Pressed Petals (Flowerfell)
by Master Nenva
Summary: "Knock knock. Who's there? Flower. Flower you today, sweetheart?" - - - - - In Underfell, Frisk awakens with only a paranoid flower to guide her. He claims everyone is out to kill her. She thinks otherwise. Surely Sans has good, or Toriel, or Papyrus. Unfortunately for her she only has a set amount of respawns to do it before the flowers take her back.
1. Awake

Living things don't have hearts.

Oh sure, plenty of them have those goopy things in their chest that beats fast or slow depending on how scared you can get them. But none of them have hearts. You know what I'm talking about, right? Hearts.

Maybe you can make a heart. Or grow one. Maybe I already grew one, but it's hard to tell. Wouldn't growing a heart hurt? Oh well. Who needs a heart anyway . . .

* * *

Frisk was falling as her chest exploded with fire. The falling wasn't a new feeling. She had tripped plenty of times before, whether on her own or because of someone else. She had fallen out of bed a couple of times as a kid. She had even fallen off of the school building roof once because of a dare. But this combination, this sensation of tumbling endlessly with no hope in sight while her heart was tearing itself apart, was the worst of all.

"Hello?"

Grim darkness pressed in on her. She couldn't tell if she had heard the pitiful voice or imagined it in her desperate plea for help.

"Are you ok?"

The voice was back, stronger this time. Frisk was sure she hadn't imagined it. The pain was beginning to fade, allowing her a small glimmer of hope. If there was a voice, then there was a person.

"Where am I?" Frisk called as the pain eased to a dull throb. "Who are you?"

"I'm Flowey, of course," the voice chirped. "As for where we are . . . it might help if you open your eyes."

Frisk did as the voice suggested. She was lying on her back in a bed of golden flowers. A single beam of light gleamed from an hole in the stone ceiling high above. It brightened the particles of dust which drifted through the air. The flowers were the only living things in the cavern.

"Where are you?" Frisk asked as she sat up and turned her head.

"Over here," the voice responded. Frisk glanced down. A large flower was bobbing and swaying apart from the others. Golden petals ringed its white face. It smiled brightly as their eyes met.

"Howdy!"

"Hi." Frisk looked the flower up and down. It certainly seemed real. "What is this place?"

"We're in the Underground, at the edge of the Ruins. I don't know how you got here, but I'm sure glad I found you before anyone else."

Frisk glanced around the small cavern. The only way in or out was a dark doorway embedded in the wall. Flowey kept talking as Frisk stood and brushed off the lingering flower petals. They only clung to her shirt for a moment before fluttering to the ground. She couldn't see any mark or other sign of what had caused the intense pain before.

"Imagine if that beast of the ruins found you," Flowey continued. "Then you'd really be dead."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand."

"Then maybe I can explain it to you." Flowey stretched to his fullest, which wasn't much. "Everyone here lives the same way: kill or be killed. That's how things were run even before I came to the Ruins forever. But at least the Ruins are a less scary place than out there. I guess I should be worried that you could kill me, but I've got a secret weapon which will protect me. You . . . won't kill me . . . right?"

"Of course not," Frisk replied. "And I bet that not everybody wants to kill each other."

"They do. It's all anybody does. That's why I came here, to the one place I could be safe."

"I have to get home. Do you know the way out of here?"

"It depends. Where is your home?"

Frisk stared at her feet. Her only memories were faint voices and images. A castle. She knew that much for sure. But where?

"You probably live above ground," Flowey continued without pause. "That's where the other humans came from. But there's no way back there, so you might as well forget it."

"There's always a way," Frisk said. "I have to get back. It's my eighteenth birthday soon."

"Is that a big deal to humans?"

"Yeah." Frisk glanced at Flowey. "Wait. You said 'that's where the humans come from.' Does that mean there aren't any humans here at all?"

"Not for a long time," Flowey agreed. "And when they do show up, the others harvest their Soul."

"So what do you have here?"

"Monsters."

"Cut it out, Flowey. They can't be that bad."

"No, they're literally monsters. You'll see soon enough, if you survive."

"I have to go home. Which way is the exit?"

Flowey drooped. "You don't mean that."

Frisk started walking towards the single dark doorway. If Flowey wouldn't help her get home, she would do it on her own. She paused for a moment beneath the doorframe. Impenetrable darkness loomed before her.

"Wait!" Flowey called. "If you're leaving, I'm coming with you for protection. But only until you see the monsters. Then you'll understand how dangerous it is and we can hide together."

"Can you even move?" Frisk asked, turning around. Flowey looked pitifully small in the cavern by himself. He sniffed.

"Of course I can move." He vanished into the dirt and reappeared at Frisk's side. "But would you mind if I ride on your shoulder? For convenience sake?"

"Sure." Frisk reached down and plucked Flowey from the earth before carefully placing him on her shoulder. He wrapped his roots around her shirt to hold himself in place.

"What's your name, anyway?" Flowey asked as Frisk turned back towards the darkened doorway.

"It's Frisk."

"You get that you're probably about to die, right, Frisk?"

She stepped through the door without replying.


	2. Burning

The Ruins were a maze of purple bricked walls and broken puzzles. The air was heavy and lifeless around Frisk as she walked. Flowey shivered on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you won't turn back around?" he pleaded.

"We're fine," Frisk reminded him.

"I'm fine," he corrected. "I can't be killed permanently. But you can."

"Is it because you're a flower?"

"Basically."

Frisk paused and peered around a corner. The room beyond was small with only a single mutilated dummy in the corner. Stuffing was scattered across the floor.

"They'll kill you if they find you," Flowey warned in a low whisper.

"You're just paranoid. If you're not going to help me then just don't say anything at all."

"Here's my advice: if you see or hear a monsters, run. Maybe they'll lose interest."

Frisk walked into the room. She glanced at the dummy as she passed. Something had ripped the fabric apart, burning it in at least a dozen places. She entered the hall beyond.

"Who lives here in the Ruins?" she asked.

"The main one you want to worry about is the beast. She's the one who closed off the Ruins from the rest of the Underground. She guards the door so that nobody can come in or leave. I've never really met her, but I've seen her plenty of times."

As Frisk listened, she surveyed the sea of spikes in front of her. The door at the far end offered the only way forward. Flowey used one of his roots to point Frisk down the proper path. The spikes retracted as she stepped onto them and Flowey kept talking.

"There's plenty of little monsters, but the other big one is a ghost called Napstablook. He'll kill you as soon as look at you."

A growl echoed through the Ruins, freezing Frisk in her tracks. It was a moment before she was able to start walking again. Soon the spiked floor was far behind.

"Did you hear that?" Flowey gasped some time later.

"I didn't hear anything. You're imagining things."

"No, really, I think we should-"

"What are you doing here all alone, child?" a female voice croaked. Frisk took a step back as a towering shape approached. It was a goat creature with washed out white fur. Her purple robe was tattered at the bottom and her eyes were tinged yellow. She smiled down at Frisk and clasped her hands together.

"It's her," Flowery squeaked in Frisk's ear.

"Don't you know it's dangerous here?" the goat creature fretted. "Any monster could find you and kill you."

For a moment her eyes glazed over and she became fixated with some point over Frisk's head. Moments later she regained her composure.

"I'm Toriel," she said. "Come. You can stay in my home with me. It's safer there."

"This is the monster you were so scared of?" Frisk whispered. Flowey shrugged.

"She looks the same, but she isn't acting like a crazy murderer."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Frisk announced. "We'll follow you."

"The flower stays here." Toriel glared at Flowey who seemed to wither under her gaze.

"Flowey is helping me."

"Helping you?"

Frisk nodded. Toriel watched her for a moment more before turning and walked back the way she had come.

"So we follow her?" Flowey asked.

"We follow her," Frisk repeated. She began walking as Flowey sighed. Toriel always remained just barely in sight, but she was never close enough to speak to. She didn't pause until the Ruins opened out into a wide room. A withered black tree grew in the courtyard in front of a large house.

"We're here," Toriel murmured. She entered the home without looking back.

"She creeps me out," Flowey confessed.

"She seems lonely," Frisk said. She marched up the steps and entered the warm home.

The walls and floor were painted shades of yellow and cream. Small lamps shed a warm glow over everything. A stairway directly in front of Frisk proceeded downward, deeper into the earth and further from escape. The hallway continued to the right and left.

"Still creepy," Flowey muttered. Frisk turned to the right and opened the first door she came across. It led to a small child's room. Toys were heaped in a chest at the foot of a single bed. A crate of children's shoes was wedged between the desk and cabinet. Frisk examined the shoes. They came in all shapes and sizes.

"Why does she have so many kid's shoes?" Frisk wondered as she held up a ballerina slipper.

"She's crazy," Flowey answered. "Why do crazy people do anything?"

"Maybe she's just lonely. She doesn't have any kids, does she?"

"She had a kid. I'm pretty sure she wants to kill him."

"But she kept his room for him."

"I don't think this room _is_ for him."

"There you are, child!" Toriel called from behind. Frisk dropped the slipper and spun around as Flowey's grip tightened on her shoulder. Toriel was standing in the doorway clutching a plate in her hands. A slice of pie rested on it, the crust blackened in some places. "I made you some pie."

"Thank you," Frisk said, taking the plate of pie from her. The aroma reminded her of sweet and sour apples. Toriel watched her expectantly.

"I don't know if you should eat that," Flowey mumbled.

"Quiet," Toriel snapped. "You already lost your chance. I should kill you myself, but it's different now. I have _her_ to care about." She stared down at Frisk. "Why won't you eat the pie? I made it just for you."

Frisk broke off a small piece of the pie and put it in her mouth. It melted into a gooey mass on her tongue. Toriel relaxed and smiled.

"There you go," she purred. Frisk dropped the plate, which shattered against the floor. Her skin felt like it was burning up and her throat burned.

"Frisk?" Flowey's voice was panicked. "What's wrong?"

Frisk stumbled and fell to the ground. Flowey untangled himself from under her arm and slapped her with his leaves.

"I don't feel so good," Frisk mumbled.

"Everything will be fine, child," Toriel promised. "I'm saving you. The others would play with you for hours, but this will be much quicker and painless."

"Fight it, Frisk! Fight it!"

Frisk gasped as burning ripped through her before the world dissolved into darkness and she was falling . . .


	3. Little Golden Flowers

The feeling of falling and burning was all that Frisk knew in the darkness. The darkness was complete, exactly as it had been before she met Flowey. As the burning faded away into blissful stillness, Frisk opened her eyes.

She was back in the flowering chamber where she had met Flowey. Golden petals drifted down around her as she sat up and glanced around. It was only a moment before her eyes landed on Flowey.

"Flowey?" Frisk asked. Her throat felt raw, as if she had tried to swallow acid. "What happened?"

"How?" Flowey breathed. "You remember me? You shouldn't. You _can't_. I reset the timeline . . ."

"I feel like garbage," she moaned. Flowey burrowed in the dirt and reappeared at her side.

"Don't try to talk," he commanded. "You just, sort of, died."

"What do you mean that you reset the timeline?"

"I've got this ability to return to previous timelines. That's why it's nearly impossible to kill me. After Toriel murdered you I went back to the moment we met. I was hoping I could convince you not to enter the Ruins. Apparently you have the same ability to reset timelines that I do."

"It's like I was given a second chance to get past Toriel," Frisk realized.

"Are you crazy? She killed you! Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?"

"I have to get out of here. I have to go home. _That_ is the only way to do it." She pointed towards the dark doorway and froze, eyes on her hand. Flowey followed her gaze.

"Is that a flower growing out of your wrist?"

"Looks like it."

A small golden flower had sprouted out of the skin on Frisk's wrist. It looked like a jaunty bracelet which had fused to her skin. She tugged on it and winced as pain lanced through her arm.

"It's completely attached," she told Flowey.

"I've never seen anything like it before," he murmured. "And it didn't appear until you respawned?"

Frisk stroked the small petals thoughtfully. Aside from the fact that it was attached to her skin, it seemed like any ordinary flower. It didn't hurt until she tried to remove it.

"You seem ok," Flowey decided slowly.

"Good to hear." Flowey continued to examine the flower himself.

"I don't think it's doing anything to you," he said. "I can't tell if your Soul is a little dimmer or if that flower is just glowing really bright."

"It's fine. If I just pull my sleeve down like this," Frisk briskly tugged down the sleeve of her shirt so that it covered the flower, "nobody will be able to tell the difference."

Flowey looked skeptical, but he climbed on Frisk's shoulder anyway. She stepped through the dark doorway once again.

* * *

Facing Toriel once again in the very same room they had met, Frisk began to second-guess her decision to return. Toriel showed no signs of recognizing her, although she acted just as crazy. Frisk decided to try a new tactic for escaping the Ruins.

"How do you leave the Ruins?" Frisk asked. Toriel jolted and stared down at Frisk and Flowey.

"Leave? Child, why would you ever want to leave?"

"Because I want to go home."

"You don't understand. If you leave, they'll kill you. All of them. In horrible ways. Do you want that?"

"Do you trust Flowey to guide me? More importantly, do you trust me to take care of myself?"

"Don't bring me into this," Flowey sighed, but it was already too late.

"Trust _him?_ You're obviously under his control. And I won't let him use you like that!" Toriel raised a hand and Frisk ran as fast as she could, following the familiar path to Toriel's home. If she was guarding the exit, then it had to be near there. It had to be.

She burst into the front door with the sound of pursuit not far behind. Toriel was calling to her, telling her that death would be painless compared to the others. She didn't believe her for a second.

"Which way?" Frisk asked. "We'll only get one shot."

"Down," Flowey said. "I've been here before. That's the way to the door."

Frisk threw herself down the stairs as Toriel's voice grew closer. At the bottom of the stairs was a long dark hallway. Escape could be just around the corner! She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, Flowey clinging to her shoulder the entire way. She rounded a corner. The hall extended even further, but at the end she could see a large purple door.

"There it is!" Flowey exclaimed. Before Frisk could take another step an iron force grabbed her and shoved her into the wall. Toriel snatched Flowey and threw him back down the hall as she glared at Frisk, yellow tinged eyes burning.

"Don't run from what's good for you," she growled. "I'm only trying to help."

"Helping would be letting me leave!" Frisk pleaded.

"That would be killing you."

"Then what would you call what you're about to do?" Flowey called from his heap on the ground. Some of his petals had fallen off, but he still glared up defiantly.

"Freeing her," Toriel answered. Frisk burst into flames and once again she was falling through darkness . . .

* * *

"So that didn't work," Frisk said. She was seated in the bed of flowers as Flowey bobbed nearby. That death had been more painful than being poisoned, but not as bad as the first time she had woken up. The only lingering sign of what had happened was a new golden flower beside the first on her wrist.

"That's the understatement of the year," Flowey said. "She just killed you again. And she's going to do that every time. I really don't think it's possible for you to get past her."

"But I have to try. I have to get home. What's the worst that could happen? I get a few more flowers on my wrist?"

"I've been thinking about that." Flowey squinted at the new bloom. "Those are definitely doing something to your Soul. It's really, really faint, but I think they're draining it."

"Draining it?"

"Yeah."

"Which means what?"

"It means that if you get a flower every time you die, one day there won't be enough of your Soul left to reset."

"So one day, we don't know when, I'll just die?"

Frisk frowned at the flowers. Only a few deaths before, when she had thought death was the end, she wanted to do everything in her power to avoid it. Suddenly she was immune to death. But to deal with the thought that one day that would all change . . .

"Flowey, I have to get out of here. Before she kills me too many times." Flowey sighed.

"You know that everything outside of the Ruins isn't much better, right?" She nodded. "So you'll need someone to protect and guide you. I'll come with you. But maybe this time try not to mention I exist to Toriel. She sort of hates me if you haven't noticed."


	4. Please

Frisk examined her wrists, slowly allowing her hand to move up to her hair to feel the small golden blooms. The flowers on both wrists had multiplied after so many deaths that they now resembled flowered wrist cuffs. Similar blooms adorned her hair, but she had no idea how many or what they looked like. She had lost count of deaths at Toriel's hands long ago. What had it been? Twenty-three? Twenty-eight?

"Does it look bad?" she asked.

"Sort of . . . organic punk," Flowey tried from his spot on the ground.

"Organic punk?" She took a deep breath and flopped onto the ground. "Not that I don't want to get out of here, but I'm starting to really hate dying."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute. That last one really hurt."

Frisk closed her eyes, reliving the final moments before her reset. It was the closest she had gotten yet. She'd laid a hand on the smooth surface of the door before she'd been engulfed in blazing fireballs. Toriel had stared into her eyes, disappointment etched into her features, before she snapped Frisk's neck.

"Any new ideas?" Frisk asked.

"What haven't we tried?" Flowey responded. "She's not as mad as the others, but she's still a killer. Reasoning with her doesn't work. Her protectiveness only makes her want to kill you painlessly before someone else does. And any mention of me will only make her more angry."

"Why does she hate you?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm all ears." Frisk opened her eyes and turned to watch Flowey. He was frowning at the floor.

"Remember how I said Toriel had a kid?" he asked.

"You killed her kid?"

"Of course not! _I'm_ Toriel's son. I died a long time ago. My name was Asriel. I was just like everybody else until I was killed. Toriel left and my dad commissioned the royal scientist to bring me back to life. She . . . failed. I've got this flower body, I don't want to kill people anymore, and I don't have a Soul."

"A Soul," Frisk repeated, eyes unfocused. "Everyone else has a soul, right?"

"Right."

"Maybe the way to get past Toriel isn't sneaking, or logic. Maybe it's emotion."

"How many tries do you expect to have?"

"Enough. Come on, or else we'll miss seeing her."

Frisk stood as Flowey climbed to the familiar spot on her shoulder. She knew from experience that her best chance at survival was when she met Toriel at a certain point in the Ruins. Otherwise she was more likely to come across one of the other residential monsters, a Froggit for example, and be killed by them. Luckily she hadn't run into any Napstablook yet.

"What are you doing here all alone, child?" Toriel asked as Frisk rounded a corner and they came face to face.

"Mom, you need to let me go," she replied. Toriel jolted back.

"Go?" she repeated.

"Let me leave. I'll die if I stay here. I'll be gone forever."

Toriel shuddered. Her hands fidgeted and her feet twitched. Her entire body began to shake violently.

"Mom, you've got to let me go," Frisk pressed. Toriel let out an inhuman wail and fell to the ground, sweeping Frisk into a furry hug. Flowey squirmed until he was free but Frisk remained motionless. Was this what it felt like to be loved? To be wanted? Even if it was by a mentally unstable goat mom who wanted to kill you?

"Survive, my child," Toriel whispered. It was the most sane she had ever sounded when she spoke. "The others will kill you, but I know you'll be strong. You have Asriel with you."

She stood, wiped her yellow tinged eyes, and vanished into the Ruins. Frisk watched her go.

"I guess you were right," Flowey decided. "Emotion was the way to go. I wouldn't have thought it was possible if I hadn't seen it myself."

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Frisk asked.

"Are you kidding? She'll be fine. She's crazy goat mom."

"I told you she still loved you."

"Yeah, yeah," Flowey grumbled. But Frisk noticed his gaze linger on the doorway where Toriel had vanished. Frisk began hurrying through the Ruins in the direction of Toriel's home. Just because she was going to let them leave didn't mean that another monster couldn't kill her. The Ruins remained almost impossibly dangerous.

The rest of the journey was spent in a daze for Frisk. It was a route she had already traveled countless times. It wasn't until the great purple door stood before her that she realized the enormity of what was happening.

"As soon as I step through here, we'll be out in the Underground," Frisk said. Flowey nodded.

"It doesn't get any easier from here on out. To get you home we have to go to the barrier itself, right inside the castle. There's only one path there and it couldn't be any longer if it tried."

"What would we face on the way there?"

"Monsters. If I'm with you I might be able to help disguise you. We're going to have to go through the small village, Snowdin, and later past the royal labs and generator. As long as we keep our heads down we might have a chance."

"And if I die, we can just try again."

"If you die you'll end up back at the beginning. You'll have to get past Toriel all over again."

"But this time I know how."

Frisk pushed open the door and stepped into the vibrant light beyond.


	5. A Broken and Frozen Town

Frisk couldn't have said how long she walked down the tunnel. It could have been several hours. It could have been only seconds. What she did know was that quite suddenly she stood ankle deep in snow. She stood at the edge of an ancient path through dead woods. The trees were black and skeletal, reaching upwards for the sunlight they could never have. Behind her was a towering cliff and sealed purple door.

"I still can't believe we made it," Flowey said.

"Didn't you believe in me?" Frisk teased as she poked him. His grip tightened on her shoulder.

"I believed in you just fine. It was Toriel I was worried about."

"Quit worrying then. The worst is behind us."

Frisk began marching down the path, marveling at the trees around her. They didn't seem alive, yet they weren't entirely dead either. Somehow they had been suspended in time.

"How did trees end up down here?" she asked as she turned her gaze to the distant cavern ceiling.

"Who knows?" Flowey responded. "Maybe the first monsters brought them when they migrated from the Ruins."

Frisk stopped walking and tilted her head. Up ahead a chasm divided the forest neatly. The only way across was a thin bridge with an odd wooden contraption built over it. Frisk stopped to consider it for a moment.

"What do you think it is?" she asked.

"Looks like it was supposed to be some sort of fence, but you can just walk between the bars."

"Maybe it's meant to keep out something bigger than me?"

"Toriel," Frisk and Flowey said in unison. Frisk laughed.

"Seems like a lot more people are scared of Toriel than we thought," she suggested. Flowey made a noncommittal noise as Frisk slipped between the bars to the other side of the chasm. Once it was behind her the trees transformed, growing leave which were heaped with snow. Rather than be frightening, the area felt peaceful.

"How much of this do you remember?" Frisk asked as she walked.

"It comes back in bits and pieces," Flowey replied. "But every once in a while, little things surprise me. Things like that."

He gestured to something placed on the side of the path ahead of them. It was a stand built out of wood. It overlooked a good portion of the path like a lonely sentinel. There was no sign as to who built it, or if they had visited it at all afterwards. Frisk approached it. It seemed so out of place among the trees, just like the strange fence over the bridge. Was this another trap meant to stop Toriel?

"Snowdin isn't much further," Flowey announced. Frisk began walking once again, picking her way with more care. It would be an abrupt end to her journey if she set off a trap that had been laid out for another.

Eventually she came to a break in the trees where the chasm reappeared. This time the way across was a dangling rope bridge. On the opposite end was a snow-covered village: Snowdin.

"Act natural," Flowey commanded as Frisk crossed. "Glare at any monsters you pass. Except the ones who are bigger. Which are probably all of them. Never mind, don't glare at anybody. Avoid eye contact. And say exactly what I say."

Frisk stepped onto the snowy streets of Snowdin. A sign next to her declared the town's name. It was also covered with Christmas lights. Every single bulb was smashed. She kept her eyes lowered and walked down the street.

"Where is everybody?" Frisk whispered. Her question was answered as soon as she asked it. She could hear voices from up ahead, well, one voice really.

"You're making it too thin!" it bellowed. "Do I look thin to you? That monstrosity is skin and bones!"

"But . . . but you are," a small voice stammered. "The bones part at least."

"Who do you think I am? Sans!"

Up ahead the source of commotion came into view. A bear was crouched in front of a towering hedge, snipping it into a vaguely human shape. Standing beside him was a skeleton dressed in spiked black armor. A crack disfigured one eye. He sneered down at the bear with arms folded across his chest. Beside him stood a shorter skeleton, one wearing shorts and a black fur coat. His teeth had been sharpened into points but he was glaring at the floor, totally disinterested in what was going on.

"Sans! Listen to me when I'm talking!" the tall skeleton ordered. The shorter skeleton muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" the tall skeleton growled.

"What, Papyrus?" the short skeleton sighed.

"You're always dozing off! And _you_ were the one who recommended this disaster of a gardener."

"Well, what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"Use your brain! Or do you not have one?"

"Who are they?" Frisk whispered.

"I don't know," Flowey responded in equally low tones.

As if he knew someone was talking about him, the short skeleton glanced up. His eyes met Frisk's. Then they narrowed.

"I'm leaving," Papyrus said. "Fix this." He spun on his heels and left. The gardener climbed to his feet and scurried away as Sans marched towards Frisk and Flowey.

"Keep your head," Flowey cautioned. "This is going to get messy."

"You're a human," Sans announced as soon as he was close enough to be heard. "Pretty dumb of you to show up here."

"I-" Frisk started. Sans cut her off mid-sentence.

"Are you stupid, or just dumb?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"She's my host," Flowey interjected. "I need a mode of transportation after all."

Sans snorted, looking Frisk up and down.

"Yeah right. What's with the flowers?"

"I told you, she's my transportation-"

"Forget it. I don't have time for this, and I _hate_ humans. Hope you enjoy shattering into a million pieces."

Before Frisk could do so much as scream a dozen bones appeared in the air around her. Without so much as a moment's hesitation they impaled her, exploding the world into darkness and pain.


	6. Timelines

Standing ankle deep in the snow once again, Frisk considered her options. Toriel hadn't been difficult to get past now that she knew the trick, but how was she going to get past Sans? It was obvious reasoning wouldn't work, and Frisk doubted emotion would either. Not when he had put up so many walls around himself to protect from that Papyrus. Perhaps the best choice was simple avoidance. She had the entire underground to hide in. It wasn't like the Ruins, where her only chance was to convince Toriel to let her leave. With that thought in mind, she began walking.

"He didn't even consider my story," Flowey mumbled. "What if it had been true? He would have killed my only mode of transportation."

"We'll just have to avoid him entirely this time," Frisk replied.

"I've never even heard of him before. The closest I can think of is the scientist who brought me to life again. W.D. Gaster or something."

"You've been in the Ruins a while. Maybe he just moved in recently."

Almost unconsciously Frisk reached up to feel her hair, counting each of the blooms silently. This wasn't missed by Flowey.

"It's here," he told her, laying a leaf on her head where a golden bloom had sprouted. Frisk sighed and lowered her hand. If this kept up, it wouldn't be long before she was entirely covered.

"This might be harder than I thought," she admitted. "Are we going to have to figure out how to get past every single monster out here just like we did Toriel?"

"I did warn you. Are you still determined?"

"One hundred percent."

She had crossed the bridge and was approaching the lookout post. This time she didn't even bother glancing it, knowing already that it was empty.

"You!" a voice called. Frisk froze in her tracks and looked at the sentry stand. Sans stood behind it, arms folded and glaring furiously.

"What's he doing there?" Frisk whispered to Flowey. "Did we mistime it?"

"No, I was paying attention!" Flowey hissed back.

"I knew a human would try to come here," Sans announced. "Too bad you didn't kill her when you had the chance, flower."

"Wait, let me explain!" Frisk begged. It was too late. She was lifted by some invisible force and launched through the air. She screamed as her bones snapped and branches tore at her. The world shattered into black shards. She was breaking into dozens of pieces. When the sensation faded she found herself in the bed of flowers back in the Ruins once again as Flowey shivered nearby.

"How did the timeline change?" he muttered to himself. "We didn't make different decisions, did we? Not different enough for him to have been somewhere completely different by the time we arrived."

"Flowey."

"And he already recognized you, which shouldn't have been possible anyway because the timeline reset-"

"Flowey."

"-and I've never heard of anybody who could reset the timelines aside from us. It's impossible for me not to have known about it, I would have recognized the timeline resetting-"

"Flowey!"

"What?"

"It's going to be ok. We can work through this."

Flowey's expression was anguished. He shook his head.

"How can you say that?" he asked. "If Sans really did recognize you, he might be able to reset the timelines himself. And if he really does remember us, how can we convince him to let us live? He'll just remember everything we try!"

"I just need to talk to him. If he let me speak, I bet I could convince him that we're not really that bad. Besides, we don't know that he actually recognized me. All he said was 'you.' Maybe he was just referring to the fact that I'm a human."

"And if he did recognize you?"

"All the better. At some point he'll have to listen. Even a skeleton can't kill forever."

 _I have a good feeling about him_ , Frisk remembered. _He's not as bad as he wants everyone to think he is. There's something inside of him, something real. Something I can save._

But she didn't share these thoughts with Flowey, and he didn't ask.


	7. Listen

_How to do it,_ Frisk mused to herself. _How to convince Sans to let me live. I bet normal humans don't have to worry about this kind of problem. Or maybe they do. How would I know?_

She stared blankly at the towering purple door. There was also the matter of where Sans would be. Would he be in the sentry post? Or would he be back in Snowdin? Maybe he would be even closer.

"What are you waiting for?" Flowey asked. "Did you change your mind?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's do this."

She opened the door and stepped into the blazing light of the tunnel from the Ruins. The walk seemed longer each time she took it, which had really only been twice.

"Just find out if he remembers you," Flowey recommended. "And try not to die, of course."

The light faded and Frisk emerged in the snow chocked landscape. Sans stood directly in front of her, hands in his pockets and a snarl on his face. He narrowed his eyes.

"Humans," he snorted. "You can smell them a mile away. Or is it those awful flowers in your hair?"

"Leave us alone!" Flowey said.

"If you wanted that, you should have stayed back in the Ruins where you belonged."

His hand twitched and Frisk lunged to the side, barely escaping the sharpened bone which hurled through the air. It buried itself in the thick wood of the door. Sans only seemed mildly impressed.

"So you've dodged a monster attack in your day," he announced. "Good for you . . . not."

"Just run," Flowey hissed in Frisk's ear. "He's not worth it."

 _Maybe he is,_ her mind retorted, but she scrambled to her feet and ran. She could hear Sans yelling behind her.

"You won't get far, human!"

Frisk ran, ignoring the sting of snow on her arms and legs. Flowey clung to her shoulder, adjusting his grip every so often as to not get flung off. A quick glance over her shoulder proved that Sans wasn't chasing her. Both he and the door were no longer in sight.

"He won't be gone long," Flowey announced from her shoulder as he followed her gaze. Frisk was about to reply when she collided with a wall of solid fur. Flowey yelped as a skeletal hand closed around him and threw him into the trees. The other hand gripped Frisk tightly. She stared up into a pair of empty eye sockets.

"Told you that you wouldn't get far," Sans said as his grip tightened on her. She gasped in pain and pulled away, but his hold was firm. His frown turned into a grimace.

 _He's hurt. Someone hurt him, and it wasn't me._

"Want to have a bad time?" he asked.

"Who hurt you?" Frisk blurted out. Sans' grimace morphed back into a frown.

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone hurt you, really recently. Why?"

"None of your business."

"Then why take it out on me? I never did anything to you."

"Wrong. You did _everything_ to me. So shut up."

"Was it Papyrus?"

"What? Why would you . . . Papyrus is a _great_ brother . . . leader . . . boss," Sans shook his head and growled. "Stop asking questions!"

"But you stay with him because you can see the good in him, too?"

"I said shut up!" Sans shook Frisk vigorously. "And after I'm done with you I'm going to find that stupid flower so I can make it stop resetting the timelines!"

 _He knows_ , Frisk thought before everything exploded into burning pain. She wasn't even sure how Sans had killed her, only that he'd done it again and she was falling through nothing. _He isn't the one resetting the timeline, but he remembers everything that happened before we reset it._

* * *

When Frisk returned with Flowey, Sans before the door once again to welcome them . . . and kill them. No two times were the same. Sometimes bones were used. Sometimes he manipulated gravity. Sometimes Papyrus was there, but when he was Sans was nowhere to be found. Sometimes Frisk managed to escape for a few moments. Sans always followed her. Sometimes Flowey sacrificed himself to save her, but it was never enough. Sans never said a word to her. He never allowed Frisk to speak to him again.

 _I know he's different._ Frisk closed her eyes and shuddered, feeling the dozens of flowers in her hair. _I can help him. Why won't he let me in?_

"You can't keep doing this to yourself," Flowey murmured, picking stray petals out of Frisk's hair as she lay in the beginning chamber. "You're dying. I can see your Soul fading."

"But what's the point of staying here? You can't protect me forever. Toriel will find me. Or Napstablook. Or some other horrible monster. Ouch!"

Flowey had pulled on one of the flowers growing from Frisk. He murmured an apology and smoothed her hair down. Frisk took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. It was a moment before she realized her hands were trembling.

"So what's the new strategy?" Flowey asked.

"I don't know. I'm still thinking up one."

"Maybe if we wait long enough he'll lose interest and we can sneak past. It's not like we'll have to think up a new way past Toriel."

 _Again and again._ Frisk shuddered. _How many times do I have to die before I figure this out? It can't be too many more, right? I just need Sans to listen to me._

"Frisk?" Flowey asked cautiously.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"Why is it always about you?" a whiny voice demanded. "Well, guess what? This time it's _not_. He was trying to tell you about _me._ "


	8. The Stuff of Nightmares

Frisk's eyes snapped open and she lurched to her feet to face the speaker. A ghost hovered in front of the empty doorway. It looked comically like a floating bedsheet with painted eyes and a crooked smile. The paint looked a lot like blood . . .

We must have waited too long. The thought blazed through her as her mind scrambled. I've never seen this monster before. Who is he?

"Sorry to disturb you, Napstablook," Flowey called from his spot on the floor. In her haste to stand she had left him on the floor.

"Oh, now you're sorry," the ghost moaned. "Funny how they're always sorry when they're about to die."

 _That's one sad little ghost. What made him so miserable?_

"We're not bothering anybody," Flowey protested.

"You're bothering me, and you pretended like I wasn't even there! Flower girl won't even talk to me!"

"Sorry, I was just in a lot of pain," Frisk offered. A cold cackle echoed around the room.

"You're going to be in a lot of pain alright," Napstablook said. "I'll make sure of it!"

He shuddered for a moment before drops of clear liquid dripped from where its eyes were, making the red paint run. Frisk backed up quickly as the drops zoomed towards her.

 _Are they poisonous?_ she thought. _Are they acid? How am I supposed to get past Napstablook? He's blocking the door!_

Then the first drops hit her.

It was instant agony. The liquid burned wherever it touched her, blistering the skin but leaving her clothes untouched. She shrieked and dropped to the ground. She scrambled at the nearby dirt and flowers, trying to use them to scrub off the acid, but it was no use. The drops seemed to be magnetically drawn to her. Flowey was shouting somewhere. She couldn't tell what he was saying. She'd gone nearly deaf.

 _Another reset down,_ her muddled mind whispered. _Now we know not to wait. Too late now. At least we learned, one way or another._

Napstablook's voice drowned out Flowey's, but she still couldn't tell what he was saying. She managed to crack open her eyes through the pain. Napstablook was fleeing through the doorway. The drops of acid slid from Frisk's skin and soaked into the stony ground.

 _I wonder what made him leave. Maybe it was Flowey._

A shadowed figure appeared in the corner of her eye and moved until it was standing over her. She couldn't make out who it was through the haze of pain.

 _Toriel?_ She coughed. _You're too late. I . . . I hope this doesn't traumatize you . . ._

The world faded into darkness, but this time the feeling was blissfully painless. She relished the moment of freedom and emptiness. But it wasn't long before sensation began to return to her.

 _I don't know if I want to go back!_ Frisk panicked. This time it didn't hurt. Was this supposed to be the real end? _Out there I'll just die again! What's left for me?_

Instantly her mind flashed to Flowey. What would he think? He'd probably just feel awful about the whole thing. _And after he had tried so hard to protect me, too._ Toriel and Sans came next. _They live in this horrible world where everyone hates each other, but they aren't actually bad. If I'm not around to help them respect themselves and reach their full potential, who will? Nobody, that's who._

 _So I have to go back._

Frisk allowed sensation to return fully and opened her eyes. Flowey was planted nearby, fluffing his petals and muttering. Frisk allowed herself a moment longer before standing up and brushing herself off.

"So that was Napstablook," she said.

"That was him," Flowey agreed. "We're lucky we didn't run into him before, but now we know. Honestly, he's worse than Sans."

 _Of course he is._

"It's been a while since I died unwillingly," he continued. "I forgot how abrupt it is."

"Wait, you died?" Flowey's head bobbed. "So you didn't see who scared Napstablook away?"

"Something scared Napstablook?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get a good look at who it was."

"That can't be good. Anything powerful enough to terrify a ghost is bad news for us. Are you still determined to try again?"

"Yes."

Frisk decided to refrain from telling him how close she had been to giving up. How much she had wanted not to return. Instead she scooped up Flowey and placed him on her shoulder.

"Let's give this another go."

* * *

Standing before the door out of the Ruins once again, Frisk felt her determination wavering. She was completely out of ideas, and each time was so different. The problem seemed impossible. But the reassuring feel of Flowey on her shoulder helped her press forward. She had a job to do.

The vibrant light faded and Frisk found herself ankle deep in snow. She raised her fists and prepared to defend herself-

-from nothing. The forest was empty.

"Where is Sans?" Flowey asked. "Or Papyrus?"

Frisk glanced around the forest. There was no sign that they had ever been there, or ever would be. _Did Sans finally give up? Or did he realize that he's better than this?_

"What are we waiting for?" Flowey exclaimed with a bright smile. "Let's get going before he catches on!"

Frisk started walking again, glancing around as she did so. She was sure that Sans was somewhere, watching them. But where? And why wasn't he attacking?


	9. Pathetic Luck

Frisk strolled down the streets of Snowdin, keeping to the shadow with eyes downcast. She could hear monsters as they walked past. They were all grumbling to themselves unintelligibly. None of them noticed her.

"If the monsters are out, those two skeletons aren't around, right?" Frisk whispered.

"Hopefully," Flowey agreed. Snowdin was not large. A single street connected all of the homes and shops. At the end of the road was a large log cabin strung with more broken Christmas lights. And beyond that . . .

 _Freedom._

"Slow down," Flowey hissed. "Running draws attention."

Frisk forced herself to slow down as she passed the wooden cabin. Twenty more feet. Fifteen. Ten. Five, four, three, two . . .

Then Snowdin was behind her. She was surrounded by snow dusted trees with the roar of the river in her ears. There were no monsters nearby, friendly or otherwise. And there was no sign of Sans, either.

"Check out these footprints," Frisk said, crouching down to examine the path better. A set of heavy boot tracks marched away from Snowdin and into the gloom.

"Let's hope we don't run into their owner," Flowey replied, twisting to glance behind them. There was still no sign of pursuit.

"I don't think Sans is as bad as you think he is." Frisk started walking, following the same trail as the footprints.

"Did you lose your common sense in the last reset? Sans killed you at least a dozen times! What makes you think he isn't a killer?"

"I can feel it. He's not as bad as he wants everyone to think. He's just in a lot of pain."

"It's probably just guilt from killing people so many times."

"Guilty?" a cold voice repeated. It cackled. "Sans doesn't feel guilty. He doesn't feel anything! He's just a totally useless lazybones."

Frisk flinched and raised her eyes. Papyrus stood a short distance away, blocking the path. White mist flowed around his legs and whipped into the distance. He grinned manically.

"I've always wanted to kill a human, but I never thought I'd get this lucky," he continued.

 _I can do this_ , Frisk remembered. _Papyrus is crazier than some of the others, but he can be convinced easily. I just need to give him an idea and make him think it's his._

"Now that you've found a real human, what's the point of killing it?" she asked.

"To become more powerful, of course. A human Soul is stronger than a monster Soul, but when fused together . . ."

"If you do that, you might never see another human again. This is your only chance."

Frisk could see the gears slowly turning in Papyrus's head. Humans were rare. If he killed her he risked never seeing another. But if he killed her he could steal her Soul (at least, that was what he thought would happen).

"Better hope this works," Flowey muttered. "I don't know if we'll get this lucky ever again."

"I've made a decision, human!" Papyrus interrupted before Frisk could reply. "I won't kill you!"

"Thank you for letting me go," Frisk responded with a small bow.

"Oh no, I'm not letting you go. You're a dangerous creature. Who knows what trouble you'll get into if I let you run free? Besides, Undyne would probably just kill you anyway when she found out."

Papyrus took a step closer and Frisk took a step back.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," he said. "And I'll make sure Sans feeds you every day. It's the only thing he's good for."

A blazing pain exploded in her head before the world fractured into darkness.

* * *

 _Blindsided by a bone. I should have seen that one coming. But why didn't he kill me?_

Frisk opened her eyes. She was in a cold dim room. The walls and floor were made of cement, completely devoid of color. There was no furniture. Only a dog bowl with water and cold spaghetti. The only entrance or exit was a single heavy oak door.

Frisk attempted to stand up but found her movement restricted. She glanced down. Heavy chains were wrapped around her ankles and bolted to the floor.

"Flowey?" Frisk's heart started pounding in her chest. Her breathing quickened as she glanced around the room. She was entirely alone.

 _He took Flowey. Maybe he killed him. And I'm stuck here with no way to find him, no way to free myself?_

She tugged on the chains. They were too solidly planted in the floor.

 _Is this my destiny? To be here forever, pet for some skeleton?_ She went deathly still. _If I really needed too . . . I could just reset again._

The thought was sobering, but true. It wasn't like she would really be dead. Unless this happened to be her last chance. She felt her hair. There were too many blooms to count.

 _How many more do I have left? Can I count them on both hands? Can I count them on one? Is this my last chance?_

She began giggling as she slumped back against the wall. _What an end. My last chance, totally wasted by being locked up in a dungeon._

The tears came hot and fast. Before she fully processed what was happening she was sobbing, face buried between her knees. It was all just so pathetic, so pointless.

"I know flowers should be watered, but maybe not that much."

"Flowey?" Frisk sniffled, glancing up.


	10. Broken Chains

It took a moment for her eyes to rid themselves of the remaining tears and readjust to the dim room. The monster standing in front of her wasn't Flowey. It was Sans. He looked her up and down carefully, almost as if he was unsure of himself.

"What do you want?" Frisk sniffled, pulling her legs closer to herself. "Are you here to kill me?"

"I'm here to answer a question." He shifted from one foot to the other. "I killed you so many times, but I never got your name."

"It's Frisk."

"Oh."

 _Why is he really here? To kill me again? To feed me, like Papyrus said he would? Or did he really just want my name?_

"What about your flower friend?" Sans asked.

"Flowey? I think Papyrus took him."

"But is he like you? Can he do the whole 'reset timeline' thing?"

Frisk shrugged, keeping a careful eye on the skeleton. Actually continuing the conversation? It wasn't like him. It wasn't like him at all. _What are you up to, Sans?_

"I thought up another question," he said.

"Go for it. I'm not going anywhere." She shook the chains on her ankles and Sans offered them a quick glance before continuing.

"Even though I kept killing you, you never fought back. At first I thought it was just me, but then you did the same thing with Napstablook. Why don't you defend yourself? Don't you know everybody will kill you if they get the chance?"

"I think everyone here has more to their story. Everyone has some good inside them, if you give them the chance to show it." She hesitated. "How did you know about Napstablook?"

"I was there. When he saw me, he ran. Everyone knows better than to pick a fight with me." _That explains a lot._ Sans waited a long moment. "You said everyone has more to their story. Even me?"

 _Especially you._ "Even you, if you believe in yourself."

"Well, I was thinking maybe there's more to this pacifist way of thinking. And besides, I can't really study normal human behavior and battle plans with you locked up like this."

"You're . . . letting me go?"

"It's your lucky day, flower girl."

He reached down and tapped the chains. They snapped under his touch. Frisk stood up.

"Now, I understand if you don't trust me yet- whoa!"

Sans stumbled back as Frisk wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He hesitantly patted her on the back.

"Alright flower girl, let go." He hesitated. "You're getting my jacket wet."

"Sorry." She released him and backed up. "Now we just need Flowey. Any idea where we can find him?"

"What, you want to find the flower? He's hanging around outside waiting for me to leave. I think he was planning on sneaking in to rescue you after I was gone." He shook his head. "As if he'd be able to break you out when we didn't want you to leave. Ha."

"Flowey's full of surprises."

"I'll believe it when I see it. Let's go get him."

Sans put his hands on Frisk's shoulder guided her through the door. For a moment darkness pressed in around her. Then the world brightened and she found herself standing ankle deep in the snow surrounded by trees.

"Where's the door?" Frisk asked, glancing back. There was no sign of where she had been held captive.

"I took a shortcut." He released her and began walking through the woods.

 _That didn't really answer my question_.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah," Frisk answered as she tromped through the snow after him. The trees were silent around them. She couldn't see Snowdin or the monsters who lived there. Where exactly were they?

Sans stopped walking and Frisk nearly ran into him. She managed to stumble to a stop in the snow. He glanced back at her with a faintly amused grin.

"Your flower is just up ahead, waiting. I doubt he'd trust me if he saw me, so you go tell him. But be quick. We don't know if Papyrus will come back soon."

Frisk nodded and marched past him, trying not to imagine Papyrus lurking in the trees up ahead. If he caught her would everything be over? Would he just kill her without a thought?

 _No, Papyrus is better than that._

A small wooden shed came into view between the trees. Flowey was planted in the ground nearby. He was staring at the door so hard that Frisk was surprised it didn't burst into flames.

"How long are you going to stare at that?" she asked. Flowey flinched and spun around. His eyes widened.

"Frisk!" He disappeared into the ground and reappeared much closer. "You gave me a heart attack! How did you get out? What happened?"

"It's a long story, but the short version is that Sans is on our side now."

Flowey snorted as Frisk picked him up and placed him on her shoulder.

"Yeah right. I heard him talking to his brother. Those two are killers to the core."

"No, really. He was surprised that I didn't fight back no matter how many times he killed me. So he let me go."

"You're serious?"

Frisk nodded. Flowey stared at the ground.

"This is crazy," he finally said. "How much does he know?"

"Our names."

"You didn't tell him where we're going?"

"No."

"Good. He might be trying to trick us. Or maybe he just wants to find out how much we know. I doubt he would let us go to the barrier if he knew that was our destination."

"But why?" Frisk glanced back over her shoulder to where she had left Sans. She couldn't see him between the trees.

"Because human Souls are rare, and they only need one more to break the barrier and flood the world above."

"You think that he just wants to use my Soul to open the barrier?"

"I think it's a possibility. It's probably best if we continue without him. What he doesn't know, he can't use to hurt us, right?"

"I guess you're right." _I'm so sorry Sans._ "Lead the way."


	11. Numb

_Step-crunch step-crunch_.

"Does snow always sound like this when you walk through it?" Frisk huffed, tugging her leg free from the white mass. After fleeing with Flowey, the snow had become deeper and the woods thicker. Flowey hadn't said anything, but Frisk was sure they were hopelessly lost. _Sans knew where we were going. Too bad he isn't here now._

Her next step plunged her into the snow above her knees. She groaned and began sweeping aside the snow with her hands. Her hands had lost all feeling.

"Want some help?" Flowey asked.

"Aren't you a little small to pull me out?"

"Just thought I'd ask."

Frisk threw herself forward, counting on her momentum to pull her free. _Sluuuuuurp_. She fell onto the snowdrift, only to feel it crumble away beneath her weight.

"Cliff!" Flowey howled as they tumbled through the air alongside clumps of snow. A roar filled her ears as tears streamed from her eyes. A torrent of inky water rushed up to meet her. She plunged into the river.

Freezing water closed over her head as bubbles exploded in her face. She flailed against the current. Her head popped above the surface.

"Flowey!" she gasped as water slapped her face.

"Here!" he called in her ear. Her shoulder had gone numb where he was clinging. "Swim to shore!"

 _Shore. Just swim._ The pebbled shore was only a couple of feet away. _Why isn't it coming any closer?_

She lurched through the river, swallowing half of the water she crossed. Whenever her head vanished beneath the surface Flowey led her back to air. He was so small that he could not do much more than offer encouragement. What felt like a millennia later she flopped onto dry land.

"That's it, get it all out," Flowey coaxed as Frisk heaved. A stream of water seeped from her mouth. "You did great."

"Hate it," Frisk said. Her teeth were chattering so badly that she could hardly speak.

"I know, but you're going to be fine. See, your body is shivering. That means it's trying to warm itself up again."

"Can't feel the cold. All numb."

"You can't feel the cold at all?"

Frisk managed to get to her feet despite how badly she was shaking. Her head felt like she'd tried to get a million brain freezes at once.

"Frisk! Pay attention!" Flowey twisted himself so that they were staring eye to eye. Droplets glistened on his face and his petals drooped like limp rags. "You've got to start walking."

"Want to warm up."

"You can, but you've got to walk so you can do that."

 _Flowey's crazy. He's officially lost his mind._

"I know that look. Don't ignore me! Don't think, just one foot in front of the other."

 _It's like he can read my mind. Isn't that weird? Everything is so slow. I wonder if this is how a slug feels._

"Frisk!"

"Mm walkin."

She worked her way into the woods again, one grudging step after another. She couldn't tell if Flowey was still clinging to her shoulder. She didn't much care. Her mind was occupied by trudging in a slow circle, always cycling back to the same thought. _Can't feel my feet. They're like bricks. There's nothing around. Just snow. Where's Sans? Still waiting? Or mad? Does he hate me? Can't feel my feet._

She had stopped shivering, which made it a little easier to walk through the snow. But that didn't change the fact that it clung to her feet in clumps. Her surroundings melted into a gray haze. She could barely tell that Flowey was talking, but most of the words didn't register in her mind.

"Walk . . . I'll make a fire . . . don't think . . . listen to my voice . . ."

"Frisk!"

A new shape disrupted the uniformity. Frisk shook her head slowly and forced her eyes to focus. Sans was standing before her, eyes flaming orange and fangs bared. His voice didn't register any better than Flowey's.

"Freaking idiot . . !" Frisk closed her eyes. When she opened them Sans stood even closer.

" . . . idiot . . . what are you . . . idiots into ice cubes . . . great job you're doing . . ."

Her eyes closed a second time. An iron force grabbed her shoulders and shook her, forcing her eyes to open again. Sans was holding her with his bony fingers. His eyes burned a vibrant red as he snarled.

"Stay . . . hear me . . . dead by dawn . . ."

She couldn't fight the drowsiness anymore. She collapsed forward into Sans' arms.

* * *

When she came to again, she was propped against a tree beside a pitiful fire. She was wrapped in some sort of black fur coat. Her eyes wandered to Flowey and Sans, who were standing a fair distance away. But exhaustion was too much and the world faded again.

* * *

She couldn't even muster the energy to open her eyes as something brushed her face. Low voices floated to her as she clung to consciousness.

"I don't care. Forget me. She's going to die."

"But you're plan is awful. I can do this. Leave it to me."

" _You?_ You were leading her blindly through the woods! She was falling to pieces when I found you."

"But _you_ want to take her _back to the monsters_ who want to kill her!"

"So what's it going to be? Are you willing to let her die just because you won't trust me?"

The darkness pulled her into its welcoming arms.


	12. Reunion

Frisk was floating, surrounded by darkness. _Is this another reset?_

She could feel the warm breath of a fire wash over her. Not a reset, then. _But where am I?_

She cracked her eyes open. She could see a wooden ceiling above her head. A warm black coat was wrapped around her. She was lying on a wooden bed. A nearby nightstand held a golden flower.

Two creatures were in the room. One was Sans, wearing a red long-sleeved shirt instead of his usual jacket. The other was a man made of fire.

"I don't see why you bothered," the fire man said. He sighed, head crackling and popping. "This human is obviously infected."

"She's not a human, she's a monster," Sans replied. "Honestly, Grillby, you're losing your touch."

"Watch your manners. If you weren't my best customer we wouldn't even be talking about this. I'd have left you on the porch."

"Good thing you're such a nice guy."

"Maybe Papyrus is right. You're getting lazy and soft."

Grillby turned on his heel and slammed the door shut behind him. Sans stared at the place he'd gone, fangs bared.

"You better not listen to him," Frisk said. She coughed and sat up as Sans' eyes flashed to her.

"About time you woke up," he muttered, but he was smiling.

"It's been ages," Flowey agreed. Frisk turned as the golden flower shook itself and Flowey opened his eyes. "I hate sitting in a flower pot."

"Where are we?"

"Grillby's Grill," Sans said. "We're in a back room. Nobody will bother you here."

"We're back in Snowdin," Flowey added. He shot Sans a venomous glare. "Now that you're up, we should leave. It's not safe here."

"I don't know if I can stand up, much less run from monsters," Frisk said.

"Just rest," Sans and Flowey ordered in unison. They exchanged an uneasy glance. _This is interesting_ , Frisk mused.

"What happened?" she asked. "It's all a blur."

"We fell in the river," Flowey said. "I think you caught hyperthermia. It was all I could do to keep you walking. We got a good way into the woods when he stopped us."

"It wasn't long before I realized you weren't coming back," Sans interjected. "I figured the flower had turned you against me." Was that a hint of sadness in his voice? "Immediately I started looking for you. I could tell from the direction of your footprints where you were heading so I took a shortcut to catch up. When I found you, you were wandering deliriously. We managed to keep you warm long enough to convince Flowey to let me bring you here. And it's a good thing I did."

"We're doing this again?" Flowey mumbled. "Seriously, I would have gotten her out alive."

"You just keep telling yourself that."

"How long was I out?"

"A couple of days. I lost track," Flowey said.

"Eight days," Sans countered. "I _didn't_ lose track."

 _Eight days. That makes this the longest I've ever lived between resets._

 _Why doesn't that make me happier?_

"So now that we're all together again, mind telling me what the plan is?" Sans asked. "Obviously Frisk can't stay here forever."

"We get out of town, then we split up," Flowey answered.

"Seriously? Again?"

"No, we need to stick together," Frisk interjected.

"Are you sure? This is the guy that killed you a dozen times or more!"

"Look, I'm sorry about that! And I still don't understand how this whole 'reset' thing works."

"We need him," Frisk said. She glanced at Sans. "And he needs us."

"Oh boy, this is gonna turn sappy real fast." He folded his arms. "Don't start crying on my again, flower girl."

"I'm not going to. I'm done crying for a while."

"Then maybe you can finally tell me where we're going next?"

"The barrier. We're going to the barrier."


	13. Dog Bones

_The barrier._

Frisk's words hung in the air between them. For a moment there was total silence.

Then Sans began laughing. He doubled over clutching his stomach, laughing so hard that Frisk felt the bed tremble beneath her. Flowey frowned.

"What's so funny?" Frisk asked. Sans's laughter subsided.

"Just how crazy you are. I get that you need to pass through if you want to go back to the surface, but do you realize how _insane_ that is? Every single monster in the Underground is between here and the barrier. You'd have to go through King Asgore's castle! Have you even heard of him?"

"I was waiting to tell her," Flowey mumbled. Sans's face darkened.

"Why hide what's coming up? Asgore is literally the king of all monsters. He's the one who made the new motto, 'kill or be killed.' He's the one collecting human Souls so that he can exterminate all humanity for what they did to his kids."

"There's got to be a way past him," Frisk announced. "There's always a way."

"Maybe. If you tried hard enough. But if you messed up at all you'd reset again."

"I can't live with myself if I don't try."

"You won't live if you try."

" _I'm_ going with Frisk," Flowey said. "Are you coming or not? Because we don't need your help either way."

"Don't get your petals in a twist, I'm coming," Sans promised. "You guys need a _real_ monster on your side."

* * *

"Back up, _how_ does this reset thing work?"

The hike through the woods was a hard one, but it was made easier because Sans knew the paths. Snowdin was behind them and Sans had promised that no monsters used the path anymore. Even with all that in their favor, the hike was tense. Flowey and Sans were like coiled springs, ready to snap at a moment's notice. The situation wasn't helped by the fact that Flowey was explaining to Sans how the resets worked, and getting upset because of it. _Or maybe he's just mad that I'm still wearing Sans's coat._

Frisk had offered to return it, but Sans had claimed she needed it more. "The cold doesn't bother my bones like it bothers you," he said. "Keep it. When I want it back I'll ask for it, and not a moment sooner."

Flowey quivered on her shoulder, but when Frisk glanced at him he still had the same expressionless face. Which brought them to their present conversation.

"When she dies, she ends up back in the Ruins where she first fell in the Underground," Flowey explained slowly as they marched. "And since I can reset, I just go back there too."

"So if there's a reset, I'll just keep an eye out for you two," Sans promised.

"No offense, but how do we know you won't just kill her again?"

"That was totally meant to be offensive," Sans muttered. "No matter the timeline, I can see your past resets. And I'll give Frisk a code word so I know I can trust her."

"What's the code word?" Frisk asked.

"I don't know. I'll think of something."

"Yeah, you'll just wait until she's already dead and you don't have to deal with it anymore."

 _And there they go again,_ Frisk thought as Sans and Flowey launched into another heated argument. _It's a good thing there's nobody nearby to hear them. Every tree in a mile radius can probably hear us, though. I don't understand. They're both here to help me. Why can't they get along? Why can't they just trust each other?_

Frisk stopped walking. She glanced over her shoulder, tingles rushing down her spine. Nothing stepped out of the darkness to greet her.

"Hey, why'd we stop?" Flowey demanded. Sans stopped walking and followed Frisk's eyes to the still forest.

"Something wrong, flower girl?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "For a second I thought I heard something, but it's gone now."

"Maybe you heard the echo of our footsteps," Flowey suggested.

"Or the river," Sans added. "We're getting close."

 _If there's one thing I've learned, it's that if you think you heard something following you then something probably is._

 _Time to see how much they trust me._

"I'm pretty sure there's someone following us."

"I'll check it out," Sans offered.

"Me too," Flowey said.

"No, somebody needs to keep an eye on Frisk. If there's really someone out there they'll attack the moment I leave. Protect her, and if she somehow dies then you need to find me and tell me. You trust me enough to rub it in my face that I failed, right?"

Sans grinned, fangs glinting, but the smile was empty. His eyes spoke a clear message: "nothing passes me alive." Frisk shuddered.

 _If there really is someone following us, he'll kill them to protect me._

 _Can I stop him? Should I try?_

Sans turned and vanished between the trees. The shadows seemed to bend and twist to cover where he'd gone.

"Do you really think you heard something?" Flowey asked.

"Yeah. It was a snuffling, scratching sound." A tree branch snapped just out of sight. "Think he'll be ok?"

"I'm more worried for whatever he finds. It won't be pretty, that's for sure."

Frisk's heart pounded in her chest. She stared at the trees, willing Sans to reappear and promise that it was just a false alarm. There was nothing to worry about and they could keep walking.

The shadows parted, depositing a figure back onto the path. The block of ice in Frisk's stomach melted.

"It's just you," she sighed. "I thought it was a monster for a minute."

"Just me," Sans agreed. He glanced back between the trees before hurrying back towards Frisk's position. "I didn't see anything out there, but it doesn't hurt to be careful. You never know what you'll find. Cats and the like."

"Cats?"

"Nasty things. The Underground should be rid of them. And don't trust that dung about them having nine lives either."

Frisk and Flowey exchanged a glance.

"I actually like cats," she said. Sans grimaced, fangs bared.

"Can't find decent monsters these days."

"Sans?" Frisk asked. Flowey's grip tightened on her shoulder.

"Get away from it!" Sans's voice rang through the trees. Frisk turned in time to witness another Sans darting out of the trees, eyes wide with fear. A heavily armored wolf was two steps behind him, growling furiously and eyes flaming red. The Sans beside Frisk melted into a new shape, a vaguely humanoid creature with gray skin that blurred like thick mist. He raised his sword and lunged as Frisk screamed.


	14. Promise Me

By sheer luck Frisk wasn't skewered in the first attack. While stumbling away from the mist figure her ankle caught on an unseen root and she tumbled to the ground. The sword passed harmlessly through the space she had occupied only moments before. Her scream died away in the frigid air.

"Get up, get up, get up!" Flowey howled. Frisk rolled to the side and scrambled away as metal hissed through the air behind her. She could see Sans running across the path, dodging between trees as the wolf nipped at his heels. Frisk's heart missed a beat as their eyes met. His expression was terror. Whole, undiluted, heart-wrenching terror.

"Maybe you can lose it in the trees!" Flowey shouted in Frisk's ear. She bolted perpendicular to the path, away from Sans and the two monsters who had attacked. A muffled thud and a quick glance over her shoulder told her all that she needed to know. Sans was on the ground wresting against the armored wolf. A splintered bone was wedged between its salivating jaws. The mist creature was gone, replaced by another wolf in dark armor. A scar marred its enormous snout.

Frisk ran. She ran faster than she had previously thought possible. Death snapped at her heels, warning her of what would happen if she stumbled for even a moment.

"Cliff!"

Before she realized what was happening Frisk was tumbling through empty air. _Is this the same cliff I fell down the first time? Is my luck that bad?_ For a moment she caught a glimpse of the snowy mass beneath her. _At least it's not the river, but this is going to hurt._

 _If the wolf doesn't get me first._

Snow exploded through the air and cocooned Frisk in its frigid grasp. She flailed helplessly, slowly clawing her way to the surface. As soon as she was free her eyes sought out the wolf. It stared down at her through impassive eyes on the lip of the cliff. In the time within a blink the wolf was gone, replaced by a monstrous bird. It launched itself into the air and dove.

"How are we supposed to escape a creature like this?" Frisk cried as she broke into a run. Her legs burned with equal parts cold and exhaustion. _How much longer can I run? How much longer until Sans finds us? Can he even do anything against a shapeshifter?_

Brute force rocketed into Frisk from behind and threw her to the ground. It was already too late. Flowey had been thrown from her shoulder due to the force of the tackle. She could barely see the misty figure above her, sword raised.

 _Old fashioned execution. Can't say I've experienced this kind of reset yet._

The sword swung down as Flowey's shout split the air. Frisk clenched her eyes shut. Something soft brushed against her face in the silence that followed. She risked opening one eye.

A flower rested in the snow beside her face, split savagely in two. The seam of the rip glared a blinding red, droplets mixing with the white snow. Golden petals littered the ground around it.

"Flowey…" A lone tear escaped to fall in the snow. The mist figure raised its sword again.

"HEY! I've got a bone to pick with you! I hope they hurt!"

The mist figure had no time to react as bones materialized in the air and descended with rapid and deadly accuracy. It was over in a moment. Gray dust drifted down, mingling with the golden petals and red snow. Footsteps crunched and Frisk crawled to her hands and knees.

"Whoa!" Sans called, hurrying forward. "Take it slower, flower girl. You… you got hit pretty bad."

"What are you talking about?" Frisk croaked. "The red isn't me. It's Flowey. He's dead, Sans. Flowey's gone."

"Monsters don't bleed, Frisk."

As she watched, Flowey's body dissolved into gray dust. Only the red remained, and a growing pain in her back. The world began to darken around her.

"Lucky shot." She coughed, lying down on the snow. The cold didn't bother her as much as it had. "See you on the other side, Sans."

"What? No, don't reset on me! We were so close!" His grabbed her shoulders and glared at her.

"I've done this before. I'm as good as gone. Will you… be there?"

"Don't talk dumb, you're not gone."

"Will you promise me?"

Sans hesitated. His grip softened. Something in the depths of his eye sockets flickered.

"Course I'll be there, flower. I told you that you needed a real monster."

The world melted into burning darkness and searing pain.

 _It hurts! Why does it hurt so much this time? What changed?_

The pain bit into her sides, clawing at her, growing in intensity wherever golden flowers broke the skin. The darkness was absolute and commanding.

"Stay," it called. "You're so tired of going back. Why try?"

But Frisk could not reply. She was already gone, unconscious long before the darkness had melted back into the familiar shadows of the Ruins. She could hear two familiar voices speaking nearby.

"Have you made up your mind about us yet?" That one was Flowey. She would be able to recognize it anywhere. But who was the other?

"No."

"Even after everything I told you?"

"I already knew _you_ could reset. I've seen it enough times. But what I want to know is if she really does reset too. And for that I need to talk to her personally." There came a lengthy pause. "Does it always take this long?"

"No. Something's different this time. It looks like a big part of the glow of her Soul is gone."

"Sucks to be her."

"I can't believe we actually want your help!"

Frisk forced her eyes open. For a moment the brightness blinded her. Then her eyes adjusted and she could see Flowey and Sans, side by side just beyond the patch of golden flowers. Sans was wearing his jacket once again, along with a scowl.

"So now she's up," he growled. "Not a word from you, Flowey. I want to make sure that her version of events matches yours."

He began to pace back and forth, occasionally pausing to glance Frisk's way and mutter. _How much does he remember?_ Frisk wondered. _He can't reset, so this is an entirely new Sans we're dealing with._

"I'll cut to the important part," he finally announced. "I've been watching the timelines like I always do. I know I've killed you a bunch of times. I _still_ mostly want to kill you." _Mostly. He said mostly. That's good._

His scowl deepened. "But then there's this funny business in one of the timelines about me helping you for some reason. Now I don't know if this is my imagination, or I accidentally saw an alternate timeline that _could_ have occurred. So I'm here to see how much is real… and how much is fake."

"Ask me anything," Frisk offered. "I was there; I remember everything we did."

"That's great and all, but the flower could have drilled you on what to say beforehand. No, I want something foolproof. So tell me… what's the code word I gave you?"


	15. Goodnight

"You didn't tell us the code word, we died before you made one up!" Flowey protested loudly. Sans waved him away.

"No, I had a code word set up just in case something like this happened. I would have told Frisk what it was. So what is it? Clock's ticking, and I'm not against killing you if this gets boring."

Frisk's mind raced. _We discussed getting a code word, but Sans never picked one! We got ambushed before he could. What would he have picked? Surely something only he would know. Something that would be impossible to guess._

 _There has to be another way._

"Can't you remember me at all?" Frisk asked. "You'd changed. For a while you weren't Papyrus's puppet anymore; you were yourself. Don't you want that again?"

"You don't know me at all."

"Frisk, just tell him the code word," Flowey begged. "Surely he mentioned something to you before you died? Any clue at all?"

Frisk replayed the situation in her mind.

"You said we needed a real monster," she tried.

"The flower could have told you that."

"And that I wasn't actually gone. You told me not to die because we were so close." Sans raised a skeletal eyebrow. Fury bubbled beneath her ribs.

"I can't believe you!" she finally burst out. "You promised, Sans! You promised you'd be there waiting, ready to help!"

"I didn't promise anything." He turned to walk away, picking at something stuck between his fangs.

"Yes, you did! Your last words to me: of course I'll be there, flower." Frisk tripped over the last word, tears welling in her eyes. "I told you that you need a real monster."

Sans stopped picking at his fangs. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "So I did, flower girl."

"Wait, you believe us?" Flowey asked.

"Yep. She convinced me, Flowey. You weren't present in that timeline, so you wouldn't have known to tell her to say that. And flower? Stop crying. I know you're stronger than that."

"These are angry tears!" Frisk protested, wiping at her eyes.

"There never was a code word, was there?" Flowey asked.

"Oh, I was trying to think of one. But I didn't in time, so I figured a bluff was the best way to play this one out." He patted Flowey. "For future reference, my secret code word so that I know someone is a time traveler is: I'm a stupid doodoo butt."

"You're kidding, right?" Flowey said. "That's your stupid code word?"

"That's the secret code word. But I have a _secret_ secret code word."

"Do I even want to know what it is?"

"I'm the legendary fartmaster."

Sans grinned, trying to hold back his laughter. A couple of snickers still escaped.

"Yeah, real mature for a crazy killer skeleton," Flowey grumbled.

"Let's just get out of here," Frisk said.

"Oh, I can help with that," Sans offered. "We can use my shortcut. But first, put on this coat. It's cold there."

He pulled off his black fur coat and slipped it over Frisk. He hesitated for a moment.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "You're giving me a weird look."

"It's just really thoughtful of you," she replied.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I'll tell you the instant I want my coat back."

* * *

With Sans's shortcut they found themselves instantly beyond the Ruins, in a small warm bedroom. He'd saved them hours of travel and danger by hardly lifting a finger. But that still raised the question: where were they?

"That actually made recruiting you worth it," Flowey said, glancing around the room. Musical instruments were heaped in a bin. Diagrams and charts covered the walls, notes scribbled and crossed out again and again. A single cot had been wedged in the corner.

"Where are we?" Frisk asked.

"My room. When I do long distance traveling, Ruins to rest of the Underground for example, it's easiest if I pick a familiar focus point. My room usually covers it."

"Can you just make little hops across the Underground and straight to the barrier?" Flowey asked. Sans was already shaking his head.

"After a big shortcut like I just did, it'll be a couple of days at least before I'm able to take any more. We're back to old fashioned traveling. Besides, I figured Frisk would appreciate being able to rest."

"We don't have time to rest!"

"Oh yeah? Hey flower girl, how long has it been since you've slept?"

"Um… Grillby's. Last reset. Or was that two ago?" _I'm losing track. This can't be a good sign._

"And that wasn't even a real rest. That was you unconscious. So go lie down and actually take a nap between resets. We can't leave without Papyrus seeing us anyway."

Frisk hesitated, but exhaustion won out. Taking a nap sounded pretty good right about then. She crossed the room and curled up on the cot, leaving Flowey to stand guard. Sans picked up a trumpet, turning it over and over in his skeletal hands. Eventually sleep overtook her.


	16. One Night's Rest

"Flowey? Can I tell you something?"

Frisk resisted the urge to open her eyes at the sound of Sans's voice. It was hesitant, like he was about to cross a sea of eggshells that couldn't be broken. _He must be about to say something important. If I show that I'm awake, it'll just interrupt him._

So she kept her eyes shut and tried to tune out their words.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you guys better," Sans continued. "When I went out there and saw what they were… I sort of froze."

"Yeah, I noticed," Flowey replied. _No, don't refuse his apology!_ "But I get it. You're a skeleton. Dogs like bones." A pencil scratched on paper. "What was that mist thing anyway? I've never seen one before."

"Most people don't. They're Mimicmees. They live pretty deep in the woods, and if you see them they're always in the form of another monster. That one's favorite was wolves from the royal guard. It must have seen them passing through at some point."

"How did it know to be you?"

"They read minds. They be what you expect to see." More pencil scratches. "What's wrong with Frisk?"

"What do you mean?" Flowey's tone was guarded, aggressive even.

"Just that I notice the little things. When she was still coming to after the reset it seemed like she was in a lot of pain. And now she has one more flower in her hair than last time. So are you doing something to her? Because if you are-"

"How did you even notice one more flower among all of the others she already has?"

"Believe me, I notice. So are you to blame for what's happening to her?"

"No. I can't explain it any more than you can. Every time she dies, she resets back in that room. And every time she resets she gets a new flower. They're taking away bits of her Soul. I don't know how much more she has left. I've tried to convince her to stop, but she's determined to go home. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing by helping her, or if I'm slowly killing her."

The silence was oppressive. Frisk's throat was dry. _Oh Flowey…_

"So there's nothing we can do?" Sans was back. "I mean, I know the royal scientist. Maybe she can help-"

"More likely she'd turn Frisk into a horrible experiment."

"But there has to be _something._ "

"Believe me, I've thought of it all." Flowey paused for a long moment. "I have this terrible suspicion that-"

Banging on the door interrupted him, following by an obnoxious voice calling through the wood. Frisk bolted upright, heart pounding in her chest.

"Sans! Who are you talking to in there?" Papyrus demanded.

"Myself," he answered smoothly. "It's great conversation."

"Will you stop being such a dolt and come out? That gardener you recommended should be about finished with the hedge, and you know monsters do their best work when you watch over their shoulder _real close_."

Stomping echoed through the house, presumably Papyrus going back down the stairs. Then the door opened and slammed shut.

"Well, now we know when in the timeline we are," Frisk said. She stretched and rubbed her eyes.

"I guess that means it's time to get going," Sans agreed. "He'll be busy for a while. We can just slip out of town before he notices anything."

Sans opened the door and gestured for the others to follow him. Flowey clambered onto Frisk's shoulder and fluffed his petals. Frisk hesitated. _Should I ask him what his suspicions are? If I do, they'll know I was listening. But it might be important…_

"Did you need something, Frisk?" Flowey asked. She shook her head.

"Let's just get going. The sooner we're out of here, the better."

She followed Sans out of the room and down the stairs. Their house was a small log cabin. There was a TV propped against the wall the floor below them facing a single couch. The rest of the room was spotless. It was as if it had never been lived in.

"I love the lived-in feeling of your house," Flowey said. Sans snorted.

"Papyrus likes the room to be spotless," he said. He opened the front door and poked his head out. He allowed the gap to widen.

"Coast is clear. Come on."

They stepped out into the snow. The town had fallen silent after Papyrus's appearance. _The other monsters must be terrified of him._

 _Is that how they feel about Sans, too?_

Frisk watched him as he marched a few steps ahead. He didn't seem as scary without his coat. He seemed just like any other person Frisk might meet, except with sharper fangs. And more protective.

 _I'm so lucky I found Flowey and Sans. They're both trying to keep me alive, in their own ways._

A worm of doubt wiggled into Frisk's mind.

 _Sans wouldn't kill Flowey if he thought it would save my life, would he?_

She shook her head. _No. It won't ever come to that. Besides, Sans isn't_ that _drastic._

He chose that precise moment to turn and flash one of his fanged grins.


	17. Beauty

"I never imagined a cave could be so full of light!"

Frisk spun in a slow circle, eyes glued skyward. The crystals up above twinkled in response.

"You think _this_ is pretty?" Sans chuckled. "You haven't seen anything yet."

"You're kidding, right?"

The journey through the woods had been a quick and quiet one. Nothing disturbed them, and it wasn't long before the last of the trees was far behind. The terrain had become smoother, the ground made of fine gray and blue stone. Crystals embedded in the walls sparkled as genuinely as real stars and cascades of water became frequent. Flowey seemed unfazed by the change, but Frisk couldn't get enough of it.

"I'm telling you, you haven't seen anything yet," Sans repeated. Frisk folded her arms.

"Nope. I won't believe it till I see it." She grinned. Sans smiled in response, a real smile. Nothing like his fanged leer from when they first met.

"Are we sightseeing, or are we getting to the barrier?" Flowey said.

"A bit of both," Sans answered. "Here, close your eyes, flower."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about Frisk."

Frisk closed her eyes and felt Sans's bony fingers take her hand. He guided her forward and around a bend. The echo of their footsteps faded away. _We must have entered a bigger chamber._ Up until that point their travels had been entirely through twisting tunnels barely big enough for Sans and Frisk to walk side-by-side.

"Ok, now you can look."

Frisk's eyes slid open and she couldn't hold back her sudden intake of breath.

Their tunnel had emptied into a massive underground lake. The water glowed a pleasant soft blue, sending ripples of light onto the stone walls. Islands dotted the surface like irregularly placed skipping stones. Their surfaces were coated with dark grass and blue flowers the size of dinner plates. Wooden bridges offered the only way forward and across the islands.

"It's beautiful," Frisk breathed.

"Yeah, I figured you'd like it." Sans stared out over the water. His eyes caught on something. "C'mere. Ever seen an Echo Flower?"

"We don't really have time for this," Flowey grumbled as Sans tugged Frisk towards one of the flowers. They knelt beside it. Sans gestured for silence before stretching a finger forward and prodding the flower.

"We don't really have time for this," the Echo Flower parroted, mimicking Flowey's comment from before. He huffed as Sans laughed.

"No way!" Frisk said. "How does that work?"

"It repeats the last thing it heard," Sans explained. Frisk reached forward and brushed the petals.

"It repeats the last thing it heard," the Echo Flower announced. They laughed as Flowey frowned. Sans's laughter broke off abruptly and he pulled away from Frisk. She glanced at him. His face had twisted into a frown. _That was sudden._

"Go check out the others," he offered, expression melting into a semi-smile. Frisk hesitated a moment longer before standing and crossing to another flower. _If he wants to tell me what that was all about, he will._ She nudged an Echo Flower at random.

"Have you ever actually been to Snowdin?" it asked. She moved to another one.

"Not me. Never really wanted to," it replied. Frisk grinned.

"Yeah, yeah," Flowey sighed, tightening his grip as Frisk crouched down for a closer look. "They're awesome. Real funny."

"What's gotten your petals in a twist?" Sans asked from his position beside the original Echo Flower. Flowey grimaced.

"My sister used to play practical jokes on me with these," he muttered. "She'd talk into one like she was being attacked and make sure someone pointed me in the right direction, and then I'd rush off to protect her only to find out nothing was wrong in the first place."

"Well, that's not their intended use."

"What _is_ their intended use?" Frisk asked.

"Message delivery and information gathering," Sans explained. She poked another flower.

"I can't believe Undyne sent us ahead to Snowdin," the flower muttered. "As if there really _would_ be a human there."

The magic of listening to the flowers quickly faded away, leaving behind a sullen silence. Sans glared at the bloom.

"That's why I want you to check each of them as you pass."

Flowey swung around to face Sans. "You sound like you're not coming."

"You heard the flowers. Undyne is on her way. I'm going to go ahead and make sure we don't run into her. You guys can follow close behind." He caught sight of Frisk's expression. "It's only until we get to Hotland."

"What if something attacks us?"

"Nothing will. There's only two ways in and out of here. I can guarantee nothing will come back from Snowdin. And I'll be keeping an eye on everything up ahead. You'll be perfectly safe."

"It'll be just like old times," Flowey promised. Frisk took a deep breath.

"Yeah, you're right," she said. "I was just worried, that's all."

"I don't blame you," Sans told her. "After all, it's your life on the line. But I swear you can trust me to protect you all the way to the border."

"I know. That's not what I was worried about."

"Just keep following the path and everything will work out." He began walking away, pulling the shadows towards him. "Just keep following the path."

Frisk watched him as he crossed the bridges, growing smaller and smaller. She pulled the jacket closer around her.

"What now?" she finally asked.

"What Sans said," Flowey replied. "Follow the path."


	18. The Darkest Knight

As it turned out, following the path was simple and boring. The first half-hour or so had been exciting. Frisk nudged every Echo Flower they passed, listening to the passing conversations. But after a while the wonder of it all dissipated and the flowers all started to sound the same. And still the wooden platforms stretched onwards.

At the beginning she had been able to stave off the boredom by paying attention to the details of the glowing water or the blades of dark grass. But now the surroundings had fallen away into a bottomless black chasm. There was nothing left to keep her mind occupied.

"I haven't seen an Echo Flower for a while," Frisk commented. "Do you think we're still going the right way?"

"Well, there wasn't any other way to go," Flowey said. His petals rustled as he lifted himself so that he could stare downwards into the blackness.

"I guess you're right."

She plodded forward into the darkness. A quick glance upwards confirmed that the crystals which looked like stars were still there.

"When I only saw the Ruins and the snowy forest, I couldn't imagine the rest of the Underground looking beautiful," Frisk said.

"Snowdin was pretty, in its own way." Flowey chuckled. "When we weren't being hunted down by bloodthirsty monsters."

"Well, what about Hotland?"

"What about it?"

"What's it like? Are there lots of monsters there?"

Flowey frowned, staring into the void as if he could see the entirety of Hotland there.

"There's really only one monster there," he finally said. "All the other monsters steer clear."

"So we've got another Toriel situation."

"No, this is different. Toriel could be convinced. This is the Royal Scientist. If she could get her claws on you, she'd turn you into a science experiment before you could even blink."

"See, you say that, but you said something along the same lines before we found Toriel."

"I'm telling you, our best chance is to steer clear of the scientist. She's bad news. Worse than Sans was!"

"We turned Sans to our side."

"We can't turn the scientist."

"I'm inclined to agree." Frisk spun at the sound of the new voice.

A knight in black armor barred the way back. A plume of red feathers, or hair, or _whatever_ it was, protruded from the top of the helmet. A glowing spear materialized in its hands.

"To think, I sent all my soldiers to Snowdin to find you, and you came to _me._ "

As the knight hefted its spear Frisk ran. She didn't even bother to glance back. _I've done this reset thing long enough to know if I stop for even a second, I'm dead._

The boardwalk extended endlessly into nothingness. _How far do I have to run? How far ahead is Sans?_

 _Why didn't he stop the knight?_

"Is he following?" Frisk gasped between strides.

"She! And yes!" Flowey shouted in her ear. She couldn't hear any pursuit over the sound of her own pounding footsteps. Maybe the knight had given up. Or maybe she was right behind her, ready to issue the fatal strike…

"Left!" Flowey screamed. Frisk stumbled as a patch of boardwalk directly in front of her began to glow. A glowing spear exploded from the boards as Frisk teetered on the edge of the path.

"Hold on, Frisk!" _What does he expect to do?_ Frisk's arms described pinwheels in the air. Flowey's weight left her shoulder. She managed to regain her balance in time to see a swirl of white particles fill the air around Flowey, who had placed himself in the middle of the boardwalk. _What…?_

"Eat bullets, Undyne!"

The white particles launched themselves at the slowly approaching knight. Frisk didn't stick around to see the result. She swept Flowey into her arms and continued her headlong charge.

"Let me at her!" Flowey howled.

"Or take the chance to escape with our lives," Frisk retorted. "I'll take _that_ option."

 _This can't go on forever. Eventually Sans will come back. He_ has _to._

And then it did. The boardwalk dissolved into a dark tunnel. Frisk spotted a crack in the wall. Without hesitation she threw herself into the opening and held her breath.

A dull clanking preceded the form of the dark knight. It drew even with the crevasse. Frisk felt Flowey shudder in her arms. Or was that her own shivering? _I guess it really doesn't matter. The knight obviously saw us._

 _Goodbye, Hotland. Guess this means another reset._

She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable explosion of pain.


	19. Deadly

The silence stretched endlessly as Frisk waited for her coming death. Memories floated through her mind, the equivalent of her life flashing before her eyes. And at the forefront of it all was Flowey, Sans, Flowey, Sans…

It was Flowey who finally brought her back to reality. He prodded her with his leaves, squirming until he could see out the crevasse.

"I think she's gone," he finally announced. Frisk opened her eyes.

There was no sign the knight had ever been there, or where she had gone. _So she didn't know we were there after all._ A wave of relief accompanied the thought. _I don't have to reset again. I can just keep going._

"That was close," Frisk breathed.

"No kidding. To be honest, I'm sort of freaked out about going back out there, knowing she's waiting for us and all."

"What happened to Super Flowey?"

"He's a last ditch attempt kind of guy. Not made for long term battles. Distracting monsters? Sure. But you saw what my bullets did. Absolutely nothing."

"I didn't even know you could fight."

"I'm telling you, I can't. I just can't put enough fury behind the attack to really do any damage."

Frisk glanced back out the crack in the wall. There was still no sign of the knight.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt to just stay in here for a bit and catch our breath," she suggested. The small cave they'd found wasn't roomy by any standards, but at least there was room to move around as needed. It widened the further it got from the opening before abruptly ending in a wall of stone.

"Where do you think Sans got to?" Frisk asked. Flowey snorted.

"A better question might be how Undyne got past him."

"Is that the knight's name?"

Flowey nodded. "She's the captain of the royal guard. I think of her as the king's personal assassin. She doesn't question her orders, and she never misses. Sometimes she'll just kill bystanders because they're there." He lowered his gaze. "It's a miracle we survived at all."

Frisk leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes. _So now we've got the king's personal assassin to worry about. Somehow I don't think she's the kind of monster we can convince to join our side. It's like Napstablook. We just need to avoid her._

 _Somehow._

"The last couple of resets have actually been the best part of my life," Flowey said.

"What made you think that? The constant running for our lives or the dying?"

"No, it's not that. Before I met you I didn't have any friends. Everybody hated me because I wouldn't hurt other people to get what I wanted. But you? You didn't think I was a waste of space to have around. You actually talk to me like I'm a real person."

"That's because you are. Just because you don't think the way the other monsters do doesn't mean you're worthless."

"But…" he hesitated, as if afraid to go on. Frisk suddenly remembered the conversation she had overheard before. _I have this terrible suspicion that-_

"What?" Frisk prodded as Flowey remained silent.

"It's nothing," he sighed.

"Obviously it's bothering you. Why don't you just tell me?"

"Well…" Again Flowey hesitated. _What on earth is he so afraid of?_ A black hole appeared in Frisk's stomach, growing deeper and darker as a new thought entered her mind. _What if he thinks this is all an act? Maybe he thinks I'm faking, and I'm actually the most evil monster of all._

 _And maybe I am. I didn't even try to talk to Undyne. I didn't feel bad about Flowey attacking her. And I'm starting to not care about whether I reset or not. I really am the monster here. Maybe that's what losing my Soul is doing to me, and Flowey knows it._

"Never mind," Frisk mumbled. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at herself, or Flowey. He didn't protest. _And now he knows that I know._

"Do you want me to take a look around?" Flowey finally asked.

"Sure. I'll just… stay here." She heard the rustle as Flowey burrowed into the ground, off to some unknown destination. _He's probably going to warn Sans about what's going on. It wouldn't do to have me suddenly attack them. I wonder how much Soul I even have left. Is it enough to keep from trying to kill them?_

A single bright ray appeared amidst the darkness of her thoughts. _Maybe I can prove to them I'm not evil yet. If I just show kindness to every monster we pass and_ prove _I still want the same thing: to get out of here alive. That way they'll all be safer._

Just like that the ray of light was quenched. _But will the people on the surface be any safer from me?_

She pulled her knees closer to hide her face. _I have to make the hard choice. I have to protect everybody. If I even get a sneaking suspicion that I'm getting more evil, I'll have to end all this. I have to protect everybody… from me._

 _Sans and Flowey will understand._

 _If this isn't their plan already._


	20. True Evil

The clanking was the first interruption to the steady pulse of Frisk's heartbeat. She held her breath and raised her head, finally daring to open her eyes. It sounded like Undyne was returning. But why would she? There wasn't any reason for her to check the tunnel again.

Unless Flowey or Sans told her.

The black armor came into sight a moment later, peering into the crack in the wall. Frisk held deathly still, certain the knight could see her. She couldn't see its eyes beneath the visor but they were there, staring into her own.

"I thought for sure you were in there," the tumbling voice growled. It was feminine, but only barely, as if she were gargling rocks while speaking. "But no human could stay so well hidden, or not move for so long." The head tilted upwards. "Unless somehow you could see me hiding from in there and hid yourself as well."

 _Don't check. Don't come in._

"It's not worth scratching my armor to get in there," Undyne said. "Which means you really did continue on ahead. I'll have to check all the side tunnels all the way to the laboratory."

And with that Undyne turned and marched briskly away. Frisk let out a shaky breath. Her head was starting to feel light from lack of oxygen.

Undyne had been hiding outside the cave the entire time. How had she not heard the conversation before Flowey left? And how had she not seen Flowey? _Oh yeah, Flowey moves my burrowing through the ground when I'm not carrying him. Which means as long as he burrowed in here and popped out a safe distance away, Undyne never would have had any clue we were here._

As if summoned by the thought, Flowey emerged from the stone by Frisk's feet. He offered a weak smile.

"I've got good news and I've got bad news," he said. "Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news," Frisk replied automatically.

"I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find Undyne. Sans couldn't either."

"That's because she was hiding right outside the cave. You just missed her."

Flowey blinked and turned to look back out the crevasse. "Really? How did she not hear us?"

"No idea. She just continued further up the tunnel. But what's the good news?"

"The good news is I found Sans, and he's on his way. He couldn't give me a good excuse as to how Undyne got past him."

"It doesn't matter now. As long as we don't run into Undyne again, I'm happy."

"Are you guys in there?" a familiar voice called. Sans appeared in the tunnel, staring into the cave. He squinted.

"Yeah, give us a second to come out," Frisk replied. She lifted Flowey and returned him to his usual spot on her shoulder before stepping out onto the path. Sans frowned.

"No wonder I couldn't see you in there," he said. "You're covered in black dust. And… have you been crying, Frisk?"

"What? No." She wiped at her face to erase any evidence. "It was probably just a trick of the light. Oh, but here. Do you want your coat back? Sorry it's a little dirty…"

Sans frowned as she moved to take off the coat. He shook his head.

"No, keep it on, flower. It suits you."

"But it's yours…"

"Do I look like I care? I told you I'd ask for it back when I wanted it. Not a second sooner."

She stopped trying to pull her arm from the sleeve. Sans was still frowning.

"Should we keep going?" Flowey finally suggested. "Hotland isn't too much further."

"Yeah, we'll keep going. But I'm staying _with_ _you_ this time."

And he did. As they continued their journey to Hotland Sans never strayed more than five feet from her side. The walk was uncomfortably quiet. Frisk couldn't bring herself to voice the thoughts she was sure everybody was thinking: _how much of her Soul is gone? Is it safe to be around her still?_

Hotland should be just through this tunnel here," Sans announced as they came to a fork in the path. "As soon as we get there we're home free."

Frisk made a noncommittal noise. If things continued the way they had been going, Hotland would be worse than any of them expected. But why burst Sans's bubble?

"Home free means you don't have to reset anymore," Sans added. Frisk shrugged.

"Okay, that's it!" Sans spun and grabbed Frisk's arms. She flinched away from the sudden contact but he held firm. "Stop it! Now!"

"Stop what?" Frisk asked. Why couldn't he let go? Didn't he know he was in danger the closer he was to her?

"You're going to that giving up place in your head. Get out of there. Now!"

He shook her vigorously as Flowey protested loudly from his perch.

"Cut that out! She's not a maraca!"

"She's a nobody until she gets out of that giving up spot!"

"What are you talking about, Sans?" Frisk frowned at him as he stopped shaking her. "Let me go."

"Not until you figure it out."

"Figure what out? What could some skeleton who can't even figure out who's side he's on possibly teach me?"

The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she had said. Sans released her and took several quick steps back as if he had been burned.

"I'm sorry, Sans, I don't know what came over me." _Except for losing my Soul._

"We're going to talk, minus Flowey." Sans jerked his head towards the far wall. "And we're going to sort this out."

Flowey descended from Frisk's shoulder without question. She followed Sans a short distance away, just out of earshot. Sans folded his arms.

"Alright, what's bothering you so much?" he asked.

"I know what you think about me." Frisk hesitated. _Am I really going to do this? Am I really about to say what we're all thinking?_

"Really? And what do I think about you?"

It all came out in a rushing torrent. All of Frisk's hurt and fear spilled into her words, coloring them red and black. "I'm losing my Soul. Every time I die I become a little bit more evil, and I get a little closer to killing you both. And you two are just trying to keep me from killing everyone else and you, but it's not going to work because I really _am_ becoming a monster, and it's only a matter of time before you're both dead." She couldn't stop the tears which began to spill down her cheeks. "And you'll be dead because of me and my missing Soul."

"Oh, flower…" Sans sighed. "You don't get it at all."

"But I'm going to _kill you!_ " Frisk covered her face. _How can he still be like this?_

She felt his arms wrap around her. "You're not going to kill us. I doubt you've had a single terrible thought in your entire life. Your Soul isn't the same thing as your _soul._ Does that make any sense? The Soul you're losing every time you reset is more like how healthy you are. Maybe when you first fell down I couldn't kill you without at least five bones. But now I could do it with one or two because your Soul is so faint. You're not evil. You could never be evil." He hesitated. "You saw the good in _me_ , didn't you, flower?"

Frisk clung to Sans, eyes clenched shut, nose dripping. One thought echoed in her mind. _I'm not turning evil. I'm not turning evil._ His shirt was probably damp from the salty tears, but he didn't move away. He didn't even seem to mind.


	21. Monster

"Are you feeling better now, flower?"

Frisk sniffled and nodded. Sans let her go and took a step back. He examined her face critically.

"You're not going to go all ballistic on me?" he asked. She shook her head and he smiled. "I don't know what gave you that idea in the first place. You, turning evil. Completely ridiculous."

"It was something Flowey said," Frisk told him. Sans's eyes darkened.

"What did he say?"

"We were talking about monsters being terrible and how I wasn't like that when we first met. And then he started to say something else, but stopped himself."

Sans frowned and glanced back down the path. Flowey stood near the wall, eyes downcast.

"I don't think that was what he was going to say," Sans finally announced. "He was probably just going to say something about me not being trustworthy again. But I'm used to his suspicions by now, so it's no big deal. Let's get the little guy and keep walking."

They went back to where Flowey was. He perked up as they approached.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Now it is," Frisk replied, reaching down and lifting him onto her shoulder.

"Frisk had this crazy idea she was turning evil and was going to kill us both," Sans announced. He gave Flowey a pointed look. "She got the idea from a certain conversation in a cave."

"What?" Flowey shook his head. "No, that's not where that conversation was going at all! You're the best person I've ever met, Frisk!"

"That's what I told her." Sans shrugged. "I don't get why she doesn't know that. But now that's all behind us, so we can continue on. Hotland is _literally_ just around the bend."

* * *

The air had become unbearably warm. Frisk fanned her face as she peered over the cliff edge. Far below she could see the rolling mass of lava. Or was it magma? Lava was above the surface, magma was beneath, but this was a cave… it hurt her head just to try and figure it out.

"No wonder it's called Hotland," Frisk said. She watched a slow bubble form before bursting.

"Our names are pretty accurate down here," Sans replied. "Snowdin. Waterfall. Hotland."

"Maybe we should back away from the edge." Frisk glanced at her shoulder. Flowey was leaning as far from the edge as he could without losing his grip on her shoulder. She laughed.

"It's not _that_ bad," she said. She turned to move away from the edge anyway. "I didn't know you were scared of-"

A blaze of pain exploded through her stomach. She staggered and glanced down, mouth open in a soundless gasp of pain. A glowing spear was buried between the folds of Sans's coat. _She found us._

The spear vaporized and Frisk fell to the floor. The rest of the world had gone silent. She waited for the inevitable follow up blow from Undyne. It didn't come. Gingerly, Frisk opened the coat to see the damage.

Her vision swam. It was bad. _Really_ bad. She couldn't bring herself to keep looking at it. _But stomach wounds are weird,_ she reminded herself through the haze of shock. _If the spear didn't hit anything vital, I'll still survive._

She became aware of someone on the ground in front of her. It was Flowey. She forced herself to concentrate on his words.

"You're not dead, right?" he asked. "This happened before when you fell in the river. What did Sans call it? Shock? Am I supposed to get you moving or let you rest? Why can't I remember?"

"Flowey, calm down," Frisk said. The haze was beginning to fade, but the pain from the spear was growing sharper and more centered. "It just surprised me, that's all. Where's Undyne?"

"Sans is fighting her." Flowey's eyes were widened in terror. "He's gone _crazy_ , Frisk!"

Frisk zipped the coat shut and turned. She could see them now, outlined in orange beside the cliff. Undyne and Sans were grappling dangerously close to the edge. Undyne may have been twice Sans's height, but the fire in his eyes showed he wasn't backing down. He was summoning bones at an alarming rate, forcing Undyne to vaporize them with her spear before turning to block his next attack.

"As soon as she showed up, he attacked," Flowey said. "He barely seemed to hear a word I said!"

"I've never seen him like this," Frisk muttered. A thought struck her and she began pushing herself to her feet. "We have to stop him. He's going to kill her!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Flowey squeaked. "Also, if we interrupt him now, what's to stop him from attacking us instead?"

Frisk grimaced as she frinally staggered upright. Flowey frowned. "How badly are you hurt?"

"It's just a scratch. She almost missed me entirely, but it hurts plenty."

"Let Sans deal with this while we get to safety!"

In a blur of movement Sans smashed Undyne's spear from her hands and grabbed her throat, pushing her towards the edge.

"Nobody _ever_ hurts Frisk," he snarled. "And for killing her? I hope you think it was worth it."

He threw her forward, letting gravity do the rest. Undyne tumbled down the sheer drop until she was enveloped in the molten pool below. She was dead long before she hit the surface and sank beneath the surface, weighted down by her heavy armor. Sans stood alone, trembling, fists clenched, the dust of monsters drifting from his form.


	22. Flower

"Sans," Frisk croaked. She wasn't sure how to feel. Terrified? Flattered? Glad? _He just killed a monster because of me. But Undyne was just doing her job. Wasn't she?_

"Flower?" He turned away from the steaming pool. All the fight left him as their eyes met.

"Frisk! You're alive!" He charged forward and pulled Frisk into a crushing hug. She couldn't stifle the squeak of pain that escaped her as her wound flared. Immediately he released her, holding her at arm's length.

"What happened? Where does it hurt?"

"It was just a scratch," Frisk explained quickly. "It's nothing, really."

"Why don't I believe you? Flowey, why don't I believe her?"

"Because we just thought she was dead," he answered loyally. "That's why."

"Right. And if you scare the living daylights out of me like that, I'm allowed to… to…"

"To what?" Frisk asked.

"To freak out. That's all, flower." He looked away. Frisk lowered her eyes. _When did he start calling me flower? When we first met, it was always "flower girl." Now it's always "flower."_ She thought back. _The first death where he was on our side. That's when it started._

"Why did you kill her?" she asked. Sans frowned.

"Because I thought she killed you."

"But I would just reset. I was going to see you again."

"No, that's not me." Sans removed his hands and turned away. "That's a different Sans. Maybe for you this is easy, all this dying and seeing me all over again. But it's not that way for me. To _me_ , in _this_ reality, and to _me,_ _this_ Sans, you're dead. And I'll never see you again."

Frisk hesitated. _There's a right thing to do right now. Something that will fix everything. I just need to figure out what it is._

Startled by her own impulsiveness, Frisk leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sans. He stiffened under her touch.

"You have me now," she told him. "And no matter how hard this is for me I know it's worse for you."

"Yeah, well… don't go dying or anything, flower." He patted her head and cleared his throat. "Let's get going, shall we?"

He gently extracted himself from Frisk's grasp and began walking away. She watched him go, heart sinking into her feet. _I guess that wasn't the right thing to do. Instead of fixing things, I think I just made them worse._

She placed Flowey in his usual spot and began following Sans deeper into Hotland. No words were exchanged. The core of pain from Frisk's wound began to grow more intense, forcing her to travel slower and take more frequent breaks.

"Did I say something wrong?" Frisk finally asked the question burning in her mind during one of the breaks. Sans stood out of earshot, form outlined by glowing lava. Flowey rustled his petals as he thought about Frisk's question.

"So we're at the point where you come to me for boy advice," he muttered.

" _Monster_ advice," she corrected. He sighed.

"Whatever. No, you didn't say anything wrong. You just need to understand that this is Sans we're talking about. _Nobody_ can explain him or his reactions."

"It just seems like I broke something."

"You didn't, ok? Just leave him alone for now. Now, ready to get going again?"

"Yeah…" She stood, flinching as the pain flared.

"You winced again," he pointed out.

"How do you even notice stuff like that?"

"I pay attention to the little things too!" _Wow, he sounds offended. What's up with that?_ "And I can tell you're lying."

"Seriously, it's nothing."

"Why don't you listen to my advice anymore?"

"I listen to your advice. You're my closest friend."

Flowey rustled his leaves, frowning at the ground. "Fine. I see how things are going to turn out. Put me down please."

Perplexed, Frisk reached over to set Flowey on the ground. He vanished into the dirt and reappeared beside Sans. Seconds later both of them crossed to where Frisk stood.

"Show us that spear wound," Sans ordered.

"It's just a scratch," she protested.

"Then prove it."

"I don't have to prove anything. You can just believe me."

Sans reached for Frisk but she jerked away, sending sharp bolts of pain stabbing through her. Her vision swam and next thing she knew she was on the ground, staring up at the distant ceiling.

"Frisk!" Sans practically shouted at her. "How bad is it?"

She couldn't respond. Her vocal cords weren't functioning anymore. Instead she pulled at the folds of the jacket, finally exposing the torn shirt and damaged skin beneath.

"Why?" he asked, sinking to his knees. "Why did you lie to us?"

The world melted into darkness and pain. Nothing existed anymore. Nothing…


	23. That Sans

The pain burrowed into her, ripping each atom apart. The agony of this reset wasn't like anything else she had experienced before. This went deeper, into the very fiber of her being. Faces swam through her memory, people and places she knew but didn't know. Sans sitting across from her in an empty restaurant, but this time without fangs and wearing a simple blue hoodie and shorts. Toriel, no longer insane but the loving mother she was meant to be. And some terrible giant creature with Flowey's grinning face on it.

 _"_ _Where I'm sending you, you can't be the hero they want you to be. Those people you call friends will_ kill _you. And every time you die because of them, you'll remember that I was the one who did this to you…"_

"Frisk!" A lone voice sliced through the darkness. A sudden pain in her arm caused her to cry out. She jerked away from the contact.

"It's like she's stuck between the timelines!" a different voice said.

"You're the reset expert, Flowey, what do you suggest we do?"

"There's nothing we _can_ do. We have to hope she pulls through."

The pain and silence felt like it stretched endlessly, but it was probably only a few more moments before it faded. Frisk took a shuddering breath, feeling like a diver who had reached their very limit before surfacing. She opened her eyes in time to feel a pair of arms wrap around her and drag her upright.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Sans whispered.

"What happened?" She felt like a china doll which had been smashed in a meat grinder, then put together the wrong way with glue and tape.

"You were stuck between timelines for a while," Flowey explained from his nearby spot on the floor. "You were… transparent."

"Cool." She closed her eyes. "It was really weird there. I saw and heard things. You guys were there, but it wasn't _you."_

Sans and Flowey exchanged a look. "What did we look like?"

"Well, Sans was wearing a blue hoodie and shorts. And he didn't have fangs. And Flowey, there was this huge monster which had stolen your face."

"That's ridiculous." Sans laughed, finally releasing Frisk. "Me wearing a blue hoodie? I don't own anything like that. And without fangs? Now I _know_ you're crazy." His smile faded and he stared at a spot on the floor, completely oblivious to what was around him.

"Yeah, totally ridiculous," Flowey agreed. "A huge monster with my face? I promise I've never seen anything like that before."

Sans shook himself from his thoughts and stood. "Well, should we get going? Lots of ground to cover."

* * *

Frisk peered into the glowing lake as they traveled down the boardwalk. Traveling directly to Sans's home had been incredibly easy, and from there it didn't take much time to go back to where the Echo Flowers grew. Now they traveled in companionable silence, all the while drawing closer to their final destination: the castle.

Frisk glanced at Sans out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but remember what the last Sans had said. _To_ me _, in_ this _reality, and to_ me _,_ this _Sans, you're dead. And I'll never see you again._ So technically _this_ Sans wasn't _that_ Sans. It was an entirely new one she'd never met before. But somehow he felt and acted just like all the other Sans so far. He'd even lent Frisk his coat again. And he was entirely different, too. Like a clone. It hurt her head to think about.

"Need something, flower?" that Sans asked. Or this Sans. _Why does this have to be so hard?_

"Just thinking," Frisk answered.

"About?"

"The timeline I just came from. I guess I was wondering what ever ended up happening to _that_ Sans."

"I can check, if it would make you feel better."

"You can?" _Of course he can. That's how we were able to get him to join us at all._ "Would you?"

"Sure thing." Sans paused, staring up into the sky. He narrowed his eyes. "Aha, there's the right timeline."

"What do you see?" Frisk asked.

"It's the one where I killed Undyne, right?"

"Right. And then I died."

"Welp, looks like I ended up dying too."

"What?"

Sans shrugged and folded his arms. "I know, hard to believe a guy like me could ever die."

"How did it happen?"

"Looks like after your body finally finished disappearing, I went back to Snowdin to do some… research… and the royal guard showed up. They were under orders to kill the skeleton. Hmmm…. Yep, Papyrus. They were supposed to kill Papyrus, but they got a little confused and killed both of us."

"You mean that they're on their way to Snowdin right now to kill Papyrus?"

"Probably."

"We have to do something!"

"What do you expect us to do?" Flowey asked. "Papyrus was happy to kill you all those times ago. And it's not like he'd really accept help from any of us anyway."

"But it's not right," she protested. "We know something that could save him. Why can't we do anything about it?"

Sans watched her for a long moment. He glanced back the way they had come. "It really means that much to you?"

"If it can save a life, then yes."

"It's the whole 'don't kill Undyne' thing again." He rubbed his eyes. "Alright, I'll go. Since it's the right thing to do. But keep traveling without me. I'll catch up, ok?"

"Thank you," Frisk said, trying to pour everything she could into those two words. "I'll never forget this. You really _are_ getting better."

Sans offered an odd little bow in her direction before hurrying back the way they had come to warn Papyrus.


	24. A Reset Freely Given

Frisk marched down the boardwalk, fighting the urge to check over her shoulder to see if Sans was on his way back yet or not. He was trying to save his brother. It was sure to take a while.

"What an adventure this turned out to be," Flowey murmured. "Way back before this all started, I was happy just convincing you to be my friend. We were going to explore the Ruins together. But now it's turned into this crazy journey over the same ground over and over again."

"Would you change anything, if you could redo it all again?" Frisk asked. Flowey snorted.

"Weird how many times I've been asked a question like that. But usually I can actually go back and change what happened."

"You dodged my question."

"I don't know. Maybe I'd change how the whole Sans situation turned out. But who am I to talk?" Flowey laughed bitterly. "I'm not even a part of this anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"Three's a crowd, you know? Besides, shouldn't you pick up the pace? Undyne's still hanging around here."

Frisk frowned, but she increased her speed anyway. _What's gotten into him? He's moody and quiet, nothing like himself when we first met. Is Sans the problem? Is it me?_

 _I can go back again and again so it's like none of this ever happened, but I can't fix what actually matters to me._

The march had turned unbearably quiet. Frisk stared at her hands. There was so much out of her control, so many unanswered questions. What was bothering Flowey? What was bothering Sans? How many resets were left? What had happened before Frisk fell into the Underground the first time? And who was the speaker, the one who appeared in Frisk's mind during the last reset….

"This looks like a good place to stop until Sans catches up," Flowey announced, interrupting the silence. Frisk realized they were standing next to the cave where she had hidden from Undyne. "At least he'll know to look here, and Undyne won't."

"You're probably right." She stepped into the cave and sat down with her back to the wall. Flowey slithered to the ground. "You're right about this being a crazy adventure, but wrong about you not having a part in it."

"Am I, though?" Flowey asked.

"Of course you are. What makes you think you don't?"

"It's like we're all the villains in some story about you. I don't understand how it works yet, but that's the truth."

"So that's how you see me, huh?"

Frisk's head snapped up to stare at the crack in the wall. Sans stood just inside, arms folded and fangs bared. He glared at Flowey. "You're just stuck on this idea that I'm the villain here, huh?"

"Wait, Sans-"

"No, let the flower defend himself for once. Who made me the villain, Flowey? Why out of everyone in the entire Undergound do I have to be the bad guy?" He shook his head. "You know what? You want to make me the villain so bad? Fine. I'm done talking to you, and I'm done trying to make you understand me. Come on, Frisk. We're leaving."

He turned in place and stormed from the cave, only to be grabbed by a gloved hand and thrown to the side. Undyne appeared in the entrance, dark eyes peering inward.

"So I was right," the gravelly voice announced. "I knew you'd try to sneak past my warriors. How about you come out quietly, little human, so we can discuss this peacefully?"

"Don't do it," Flowey muttered.

"I have to try," she replied. She stood, brushing off what dust she could, and stepped into the light.

The first thing she noticed was Sans. He was slumped against the wall, glazing eyes blinking blearily. Obviously Undyne had thrown him into the wall with considerable force. The next thing she noticed was Undyne. The dark warrior clutched a glowing spear in her hand, watching Frisk the way a cat watches a bird.

"How did you find me?" Frisk asked.

"Just followed the footprints," Undyne replied, jerking her head in Sans's direction. He stirred weakly. "I knew you'd be hiding. Pathetic."

"You want to kill me, don't you."

"Of course I do."

"Then I'll let you, as long as you let these two live."

"No, Frisk!" Flowey wrapped his roots around her ankle. "Don't push your luck! What if you get stuck in-between again?"

"Then I'll have to trust you guys to figure something out," Frisk answered. "I'm going to get some answers. I'm going to find out why this is happening to me."

Flowey's expression morphed into terror. "Don't! Don't do it!"

"Seems she's already made up her mind," Undyne growled. "You're strong, for a human. And I respect strength. If you were a monster, maybe you could have joined the royal guard."

Faster than Frisk's eyes could follow, Undyne's spear darted forward and the world shattered into darkness and pain. Almost instantly the images and voices were back, clearer than before. And above it all, leering through the darkness, was the monster with Flowey's face.

" _Remember I've done this to you. Remember every time you reset._ This _is why I should be the ruler of this universe. I'm the only one with the guts to use this power we've been given the way it was_ meant _to be used. You? You're nothing."_

The images and voices faded away, taking with them the pain which had plagued Frisk for so long. She took a breath of much needed air. She could hear ragged breaths nearby. Or were those her own, echoing off the nearby walls?

"She's awake," Flowey's hesitant voice said. The noises stopped abruptly.

"Good. Tell her she better not do anything like that ever again." Sans's voice sent a wave of relief through her. So he had still come back, even after everything between himself and Flowey. Frisk had been so afraid she would never see him again that she had hesitated to open her eyes. She did so now. A lightning bolt of panic pierced her.

"What's wrong?" Flowey asked.

"I… I can't see," Frisk chocked out. The blackness pressed in on her, taunting her. "I can't see! _What's wrong with me?"_


	25. Going, Going, Gone

Frisk had felt terror before, but nothing like this. This was something she couldn't escape. A panic that went hand in hand with the darkness that surrounded her, her constant and eternal companion. She felt a scream swelling at the back of her throat.

"Frisk, calm down!" Sans ordered. "You're going to start hyperventilating. Take a couple of deep breaths."

"I can't see," she croaked. "I'm blind."

"Yeah, I figured that when you said so the first time." She felt bony fingers wrap around her wrists. "Here, lift your head so I can see your eyes."

Frisk tilted her head upwards. Opening and closing her eyes didn't make a difference. The darkness was complete either way.

"Ok." He let go of her. "Ok. We can work through this. Just listen to Flowey's directions, ok? Or here, hold my hand and I'll lead you."

Frisk felt something on her shoulder, a familiar heavy weight. Flowey. She reached forward and let Sans's hand close around her own. He tugged her to her feet.

"It's just the same as it always has been," he told her. "Except with a little bit more blind faith involved. Heh. _Blind_ faith. Get it?"

"Not helping, Sans!"

"Sorry, flower. Everything's going to be ok, I promise."

* * *

Darkness. That was all Frisk had left. It was complete, lifeless, entirely devoid of feeling. The same thoughts twisted their way around her mind as Sans led her and Flowey offered what comforting words he could in her ear. _Is this permanent? Did something go wrong with the reset? Or do I just need to reset again and everything will be fixed, like a glitch in the system?_ Either way she was afraid to try.

Without her sight, it was impossible for her to tell how far they had traveled. She could feel the change of temperature as they left Snowdin, the gradual rise in temperature as they approached Hotland. It did her little good. For all she knew, they could just be walking in circles. She was at the total mercy of the darkness. The darkness was all she had left…

"Can you keep walking, or do you need to rest?" Sans's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I don't know." Her voice sounded pitiful and weak even to her own ears. She mustered her energy, hoping to inject more feeling into her words. "Whatever you guys want, I guess."

"Then we're stopping."

His hand released her own and she was left standing, unsure where to go. Probably best to stand still. Danger could be anywhere.

"There's a rock right behind you," Flowey said. "You can sit down and lean against that if you want. There aren't any pools of lava nearby."

Frisk sank to a sitting position and gingerly leaned back. Sure enough it was only moments before she encountered a hard surface.

"How do you feel?" Flowey asked.

"Aside from being blind?" She took a deep breath. "Fine. Where's Sans?"

"He's just over there, checking to make sure the bridge is sturdy before we cross."

"Good." Her fingers moved back and forth, feeling the grit that covered every available surface. "I'm glad you're here, Flowey. It really means a lot to me."

"What, you think I'd abandon you just because you're blind all of a sudden? Now I know you're crazy too."

"I wouldn't want anyone else here doing this with me, though."

There was a moment of hesitation before Flowey spoke. "Even Sans?"

"It's different with Sans." She chose her words carefully, painfully aware that Sans could approach and she wouldn't have the slightest clue in the state she was in. "If I had to choose, I'd rather have someone who thinks like me. Someone who I don't have to worry about them trying to kill other monsters _for_ me."

"But what if…" There was an even longer moment of hesitation. "What if I'm _not_ like you? What if I was actually a really horrible monster, worse than Undyne? Worse than any of the ones we've come across so far?"

"You're not losing your soul, Flowey." Frisk could hear her own fears echoing in his words. _What if it's only a matter of time until I kill you all?_

"I don't _have_ a Soul." His response sent a shiver down Frisk's spine. "I'm empty. This isn't even my real body. Just what the royal scientist gave me with her determination experiments."

She could hear footsteps approaching. They stopped just short of where she sat.

"Bridge looks secure," Sans reported. "You… we'll be safe now."

"Sounds like we should get going, then," Frisk said. She felt around for a moment before pushing herself to a standing position. "Which way?"

"You're not scared?"

"Of course not. I've got you two here." In truth the thought of crossing a rickety rope bridge over a pool of lava while blind terrified her, but she wasn't going to admit that. Not when the others went to such great lengths to comfort her.

"You don't deserve this," Sans muttered.

"What?"

"Being blind. You don't deserve it. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have reset in the first place!"

"Don't beat yourself up over this-"

"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had to reset so many times in the first place! If I just didn't exist you only would have had to get past Papyrus. I'm so _useless!"_

Frisk heard something whistling through the air followed by a sharp crack and she flinched, prepared for the worse. Nothing happened.

"That was a plank from the bridge," Flowey sighed. "Sans knocked it clear across the plateau. I'll go get it."

The weight left her shoulder and suddenly Frisk felt alone, as if she could float away at any moment. She hadn't realized how much she had come to rely on Flowey's weight on her shoulder to tether her to the ground.

"You use your shortcut to save me time trying to get past Toriel every time I reset," Frisk said, trying to focus on something other than the mounting fear inside of her chest. "You lend me your coat. You've saved my life at least four times by now."

"But I also let it end-"

"No, that was out of your control. Are you going to beat yourself up for every one of my stupid choices? In the end, my life is my responsibility. Nothing you do can change that. You're already doing the best you can. And my blindness? It was going to happen eventually. There was no way we were going to make it to the barrier in that timeline. There was just too much we didn't know about."

"I guess." _I wonder what's taking Flowey so long. I sure hope he hurries._ Sans continued talking. "I wish you could see. If you look across this gorge, you can see the generator from here."

"Describe it to me."

"Well, it's really big. And shiny since it's made entirely out of metal. Steam is coming out of all sorts of places-"

Frisk didn't hear any more of his explanation. At that moment she felt powerful cords, cool and slick like metal, wrap around her and cover her mouth. She was dragged away into the darkness before Sans had even finished his sentence.


	26. Damaging Specimen

Whatever was dragging her away didn't bother making sure she was protected. They simply moved at a breakneck pace with Frisk dragging on the ground behind them. The stones cut into her legs, digging in, trying to slow her down. She struggled as much as she could. Nothing slowed their rapid pace.

 _Think, Frisk, think! You've been grabbed by an unknown monster. What do you do?_

 _Make a way for the others to find you._

Frisk dug her heels into the ground as they moved. She could only hope that it would make a trail leading to her. A trail that Sans and Flowey could follow.

She heard a hiss, then a wave of cold air washed over her. The cords surrounding her unraveled and she was thrown forward onto a cool tile floor.

"Got her," a male voice announced. The words didn't connect together the way they should. It was as if they had been snipped from random conversations and pasted together without much care to where they came from.

Frisk heard the soft scrap of claws. She blinked desperately, turning her head to follow the source of the noise. _If only I could see what grabbed me! I don't even know where I could escape to._

"I've never had the chance to see a live specimen before," a different voice breathed. This one was definitely female. "All that determination, bottled up into one creature…"

"I did what you asked. Now do your part."

"What, you want me to research how to make a real body? That one isn't good enough for you?"

"You promised, Alphys."

"It's _Doctor._ And I know what I said. You wanted a body, and I gave you the best I could make at the time. If you want a different one you'll have to wait until I build it, and right now I'm busy with this. Now go make sure the others won't be able to follow you."

Frisk couldn't hear anybody move away, but she assumed that the male speaker was gone. Why would he have stuck around, unless it was a clever trap?

"Tell me," the female voice, Alphys, began, "what do you call yourself?"

"My name is Frisk."

"How did you get so damaged?"

"You weren't exactly gentle when you dragged me away."

"That wasn't me. I'm a scientist, you can't expect me to get my claws dirty. Mettaton may not be the most precise means of capturing you, but his metal body is impenetrable and he couldn't say no to a direct order from me. Come along. We've got a lot to do and you're dripping red on my floor."

Frisk would have laughed out loud if her life wasn't on the line. _She expects me to come willingly and quietly? Is she crazy?_

And then the answer washed over her like a bucket of ice water. _She_ is _crazy. She's the insane royal scientist who lives in Hotland._

"If you don't start walking immediately, I'll cut off those legs of yours since obviously they don't work."

"What do you expect me to do?" Frisk demanded. "I'm blind."

"Damaged worse than I thought," Alphys muttered under her breath. "Fine. Then I will bring the capsule to you."

Frisk felt her heart begin to pound. She could hear the scrape of claws as Alphys began walking away. _This is my chance. I might not get another one like it. I have to just pick a direction and run._

Frisk scrambled to her feet, ignoring the biting pain in her legs, and ran in the direction opposite where Alphys had gone. She held her hands out in front of her. Maybe if a wall was in front of her, she could stop herself before colliding face first into its unforgiving surface.

A shockwave of pain exploded through her as her head met with an immobile pipe. Her inertia kept the bottom half of her body moving while her head stayed in place. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

* * *

Sans stared up at the dark building. The streams of lava cast an evil glow on its surface, making it look like the entire structure was leering down at them. If given the choice Sans would have steered as far from a place like that as he possibly could. But he didn't have a choice. This was where the trail ended.

He felt fury bubbling through his bones as he thought of Frisk. Poor, innocent, blind Frisk. She couldn't do anything to defend herself. She wouldn't even hurt anyone if it came down to it. And yet somebody had kidnapped her. Stolen her. And _hurt_ her.

The last thought tinged Sans's vision red. Whoever dared to do anything to her would regret it. And anyone who tried to stop him? They'd regret it too.

"We have to go in there," he announced. Flowey frowned up at the immense building.

"Into the lab? Are you crazy?"

" _Don't_ call me crazy."

"This is where the royal scientist lives!"

"And she has Frisk. So either you get your dusty petals in there and help me bust some heads, or you stay here and keep watch."

Flowey shuddered. "I'll keep watch. But for the record, I don't think you should go in there either."

"Noted." Sans clenched his hands, hearing a few cracks as the bones popped together.

It was time to teach that scientist a thing or two.

* * *

Mechanical whirrs chased circles around Frisk's head. Her entire body hurt, but especially the place where she'd run into the pipe. She reached up to feel the tender skin. The slightest brush of her fingers send waves of pain up and down her body. Her fingers came away sticky.

"How stupid of you to try and run away like that, even when you knew you were blind." Frisk's head automatically turned towards the sound of Alphys's voice. "You caused more damage to something that wasn't yours to break."

"What, the pipe? Because I think that did more to me than I ever did to it."

"Not the pipe." Frisk jerked backwards as something cool and scaly brushed her face. "You'll find I want you very much intact. After all, you have to be alive for the Soul extraction to be successful."


	27. Please Don't Do This

Escape was impossible. Frisk had felt around the confines of her cage, but she couldn't learn anything useful. The surface felt slick, either metal or glass. It was a solid cube with only small holes for air. She found a slot in the middle which Alphys used to accomplish whatever she was doing when she interacted with the cage. Otherwise she simply moved about the room, talking to herself and making strange sounds.

"Soul reading is very low," Alphys muttered at one point. "Disappointing, but not catastrophic. We don't need much for the experiments to work."

 _I really don't like the sound of that._ Frisk felt around the close confines one final time before giving up. If she was going to escape, it would take the intervention of Sans or Flowey. There were simply too many unknown variables. Perhaps if she had a little more time to study the situation, to get a feel for her surroundings…

"I brought you lunch, Doctor," the male voice announced suddenly. Frisk flinched away from the noise. _How can he move around so quietly? What even is he?_ Alphys had called him Mettaton and had said something about making him a body. Surely that was impossible. Nobody could just make a body for someone else to live in. Could they?

"Great. Recording studio is all yours." Alphys waited a long moment before speaking again. "This has obviously been poisoned, so I won't even bother tasting it. Into the trash you go."

Frisk heard a new sound in the distance: a throb that vibrated in her bones. _Sans? Flowey?_

"Your friends won't be coming," Alphys said. "Mettaton cleared that pitiful trail you made. There's no way they'd be able to find you."

"You'd be surprised," Frisk retorted. Inside, her hopes began to sink. If Mettaton really did get rid of the trail she had left, there wasn't much hope for the others finding her. Not when they had traveled so far from the bridge.

 _Should I reset on purpose?_ I thought both thrilled and terrified her. _I've never done it on purpose before, but if there's any good reason to, this is it. I'm stuck. Alphys wants to experiment on me and take my Soul. If she does that, I don't know if I'll be able to reset properly. It's like my Soul is the battery that makes this all work._

Frisk began feeling around her confines again. _If I'm going to reset, I need something to make it happen. Anything would work. Anything._

But the cage was barren. There wasn't even any food for her to choke on. Her hands strayed to Sans's coat, which she still wore. She was shocked to realize her fingers were shaking. _I could use the coat. Maybe._ She pulled the coat off and did her best attempt at tying a loop. Hopefully, if she tugged on one of the sleeves, it would lighten and she could cut off her air supply.

But now, the option looming in front of her, resetting suddenly didn't look so good. It meant pain. And uncertainty. Maybe Flowey wouldn't be in the Ruins, waiting. He had no reason to believe Frisk was dead. For all he knew she was wandering blind through Hotland. _Or maybe he's already there, waiting. Maybe that's why they haven't come for me yet._

Frisk lifted the coat and slipped it over her head, feeling the fabric settle around her neck. If there was any time, it was now. Waiting wouldn't do any good. It never did.

Something smashed, accompanied by the sound of crushing metal. Alphys's shriek cut through it all.

"How did you get in here? I was watching!"

"You watched the wrong place," Sans's voice replied. _He found me! He actually found me!_

"Sans, I'm over here!" Frisk shouted.

"Coming, flower," he replied. "You, stay there. Unless you want a bone through your brain. Then you'd really be a bonehead."

"You _can't_ do this! She's mine! _I_ found her! I need her more than you do!"

"Wrong." Sans's voice sounded closer. "Stand back, flower, I'm going to have to break this glass."

Frisk stepped back. She heard a sharp crack, then tinkling glass. A bony hand took her own. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She followed Sans as he led her away from the wreckage. Alphys had fallen quiet. This new silence sent chills up and down Frisk's spine. _She knows something. She's calculating._

"So you're just going to take her." Alphys's words sliced through the silence.

"Yep," Sans said. "Better get used to the idea."

"A shame you didn't wait longer, since I was going to fix her."

Sans stopped dead in his tracks. Frisk nudged him forward but he was immovable. Without her sight, she couldn't continue the march to freedom.

"Don't listen to her," Frisk whispered.

"What do you mean, Alphys?" Sans answered instead.

"Well, I didn't want a damaged Soul to present to Asgore. So I was going to fix her a bit. Get rid of the blindness, heal all those cuts, and get rid of that nasty thing she did to her head."

"Sans, no…"

"You can do that?"

"With enough determination. And as you can see, I have no shortage of that. Especially from Frisk. The readings coming from her are off the charts."

"Sans, please… let's just go…"

"You say you can do it, so do it. Fix her."

Frisk felt herself spun back around. Her heart withered away to nothing. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She had been so close! So close to freedom!

 _I still have one option. I just hope I have the strength to do it._

Frisk threw her hands to her neck and felt around for the sleeves which would tighten the loop. Only once she felt its vicelike grip would she be safe. _I have to reset!_

Immediately the coat was ripped from her neck. Sans's hands pinned Frisk's arms to her sides. She trembled under his touch.

"You'll see, this is better," he whispered in her ear. "I'm going to take care of you. It's ok to be scared. I'm sorry you feel that way right now, but it's going to work out."

"I'm sorry, too," Frisk mumbled. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, but without the use of her arms she couldn't wipe them away. Funny, how little you cared about a small thing like crying once you had lost all hope.


	28. Betrayal

_There's nothing left._

Frisk had all but resigned herself to this final death. Nothing she did or said would sway Sans from his decision. He kept a tight grip on her shoulders, insuring that she was never able to escape and reset herself. And all the while Alphys kept up a string of helpful commentary on their surroundings.

"Those beds are where I kept some monsters, back when I was working on the immortality experiments for the king," she narrated. "That giant machine over there, that's the determination infuser, we'll be using that at some point . . ."

"I hate it here, Sans," Frisk pleaded. "Let's just go. I don't care if I'm blind."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"No, I really don't care. All I want is to be out of here."

"You're just like Flowey. He didn't want to come in here either."

"Where is Flowey?" _He might be my last hope. If he can't help me either escape or reset, then it's all over._

Sans grunted. "He's probably still keeping watch. I doubt he'd ever come in here, even if his life depended on it."

 _Oh, Flowey, I need you to be brave now. I need you to come and rescue me._

 _If there's ever a time for you to be a hero, it's now._

"This is where we'll do the determination scanning," Alphys said. "You can just sit her on that chair, then strap her down so she won't hurt herself. We don't want any of that, do we?"

Frisk was pushed onto a chair. Some sort of fabric wrapped around her wrists, fastening them into place.

"This doesn't raise any red flags for you?" she asked Sans.

"Not if it's taking care of you, flower."

And then she was alone. She could hear Sans and Alphys moving around somewhere out of reach. Alphys was talking to herself in low tones, Sans was silent as always. She had no idea what the scanner looked like, or if it would hurt, or if it would kill her. There were too many unknowns.

"I want to know every step of what you're doing," Sans's voice cut through the tension.

"Sure, whatever you want," Alphys responded. "Come look at this. Right now I'm just checking that the power levels in all the machines are good. Otherwise we might accidentally have an electrical surge, or a magic surge. Then I'll move this here, and we can attach the wires there and there, and we'll be able to take the determination readings and start the healing process."

 _And which part of this all will remove my Soul?_ Frisk wanted to shout. Instead, she strained against the straps which secured her hands. They were immovable. Alphys continued talking, heedless of Frisk's efforts.

"You know, I've always found humans rather fascinating."

"Me too," Sans admitted.

"A fellow student! How wonderful! So you know how monsters are made of magic and our Soul, right? And with the brief exception of Boss Monsters, we can't take high levels of determination. Well, I've done some experiments and found out a couple of unique things. Monsters actually can't take high levels of determination simply because our Souls aren't strong enough to hold it. Now, something about humans lets them contain high levels of determination, like Frisk here. Humans are made of their Soul, determination, and you won't believe this, but _electricity_."

"Electricity?" Sans sounded truly intrigued. "But how can they naturally have electricity inside them? We have to make ours from the generator."

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I thought maybe electricity is the reason that the Soul of a human is so powerful, powerful enough to last after the body has been killed and powerful enough to hold so much determination."

"So if a monster had electricity inside them-"

"They might be more powerful than a human, and we would be able to use their Soul to break the barrier. Genius, right?"

"Incredible."

"Which is why I made the body of my assistant, Mettaton, out of metal, magic, and _electricity_. I haven't actually had the chance to measure the full implications for his Soul yet, but he seems to be fine so far. It certainly turned out better than the last time, when I tried to make an organic body. Of course, in that case I wasn't able to salvage the Soul . . . it was fused to the human one too closely . . ."

"Psst." Frisk flinched violently away from the noise. "Frisk, it's me. Flowey."

"Flowey?" She tried to keep her voice at barely a whisper. "I knew you'd come through! You have to help me get out of here and reset. Alphys wants to extract my Soul."

"Why isn't Sans doing anything about it?"

"He thinks she's trying to heal me."

"You do look a bit worse for wear. What did you try to do, fight a chainsaw?"

"Now's really not the time. Can you get me out or not?"

"They're not looking. Just give me a second to untie these . . ."

Frisk felt the sandpaper texture of Flowey's roots as he tried to undo the straps. Her heart was threatening to pound out of her chest. At least Flowey had come. The terror of not knowing was over. But they still had to escape.

"HEY!" Frisk's heart stopped. Flowey had stopped moving as well.

"If it isn't my first failure," Alphys muttered.

"Flowey, what are you doing?" Sans asked.

"What _you_ won't do," he replied. "I'm freeing Frisk."

"Well, I'm _healing_ her. So stop messing everything up."

"Have you lost your mind? Alphys wouldn't heal Frisk and let you just leave here with her. She never does anything unless she can get something from it. She tricked you."

"Flowey is right," Frisk added. "Alphys wants to take my Soul. If she does, it's all over. Permanently."

"You're one to talk," Alphys growled. "Always have to be the dramatic hero, don't you, Flowey? You couldn't stand it when you weren't the star after I fixed up that flower body for you, so you had to find some other way to steal the show."

"I'm not the hero," Flowey protested.

"Exactly. You're the opposite."

"Flowey?" Frisk asked. Sans's words cut across her own.

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you ever wonder where all those flowers came from?" Alphys asked. The room fell deathly quiet. _No. There's no way she knows where the flowers came from. And I don't believe what she's suggesting. There's no way . . ._

"Golden flowers," Alphys continued. Her voice was like thick sap, dripping into Frisk's ears. She couldn't turn away. She couldn't stop listening. "I knew. As soon as I ran those first few scans I knew. Since you didn't have your old Soul back, Flowey, you decided to take someone else's. And who better than the first human you came across once you escaped from my lab? Who better than the one person in the entire Underground who wouldn't know to run at the sight of you?"

"Flowey . . . she's lying, isn't she?" Frisk pleaded. She needed it all to be a trick. Desperately. If Flowey . . . If he had really . . . Flowey's next words came out in a rushing torrent.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how it happened, I don't know how to change it back or take it back or-"

"See?" Alpys interrupted. "Nobody here is as good as they pretend to be. Especially not _him._ "

"And the same thing applies for you," Sans growled. "I can't trust anybody here but me. I'm sorry, Frisk, this is going to hurt, but you were right all along."

Frisk braced herself in time to feel a burning sensation bloom in her chest. She cried out, but sensation was already fading into nothing but waves of pain.

" _I'm sorry!_ " Flowey's voice, a final fading echo, cried. " _I'm sorry!"_


	29. All or None

Trust. Sometimes it takes years to earn. Sometimes it only takes one action. But break it, and earning it back can be next to impossible.

Sitting beside Sans in the complete darkness, Frisk could feel an empty hole yawning in her heart. It was a place she hadn't realized existed before the iron trust she'd had with Flowey was broken. No, not broken. Shattered. Annihilated. Gone forever. _I've never doubted Flowey before now. I always knew he had my best interest in mind. I could trust him no matter what happened. No matter what the rest of the Underground threw our way._

 _And now I'll never have that back._

"So all the dark secrets are on the table, now," Sans said.

"I tried to tell you earlier . . ." he mumbled. Frisk's heart twisted. _He sounds so sad._

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"I never meant to. I didn't do it on purpose. And I didn't figure out what was going on until after one of Frisk's resets, where I tried to sense where the flowers were coming from. I sensed my own magic in them." He sniffled. "It scared me. If I'm using evil powers without realizing it, what's going to protect you guys from me?"

"So you didn't say anything at all."

The silence seemed to stretch on and on.

"I'm sorry."

"There's a point where saying sorry doesn't mean anything anymore," Sans snapped. "All of this is happening to Frisk because of _you!"_

His shout echoed around the chamber before slowly fading into the distance. Frisk's chest ached but she made no move to quell the pain. There were bigger problems at the moment.

"We should leave," Sans said. There was a slight pause. "Not you, Flowey."

"Oh. Ok. I'll just . . . stay here."

 _This is it,_ Frisk thought. _This is the moment when I have to choose. I can go with Sans. I can leave this behind. I can protect myself, but I'll never understand. I'll never know why. I'll probably never see Flowey again._

 _Or I can forgive him._

"I want to talk to him," she announced.

"Are you sure?" Sans asked. "You don't have to, you know. You don't owe him anything."

"I want to. It's the right thing to do. Besides, you're the _real_ monster here, not me, remember?" She smiled and sat on the ground. "Just give us a minute, Sans."

He let out a long breath of air. "Fine. You've got a heart of gold, flower. A sweet heart."

"That's what I'm here for."

A faint scuffing sound was the only proof she had that Sans had moved away. Flowey didn't say anything, but Frisk could picture him in her mind. Afraid to say anything, afraid he had driven away the one person who had ever understood him. She reached out a hand and felt her fingers brush against trembling petals.

"Don't cry, Flowey."

"But it's all my fault! You trusted me, and all the while I'm killing you."

"Did you choose to do this to me?"

"No, I didn't _choose_ to-"

"Then how do you know you're the one doing this?"

"It's my magic, I can feel it."

"Flowey, I know you, and I know you would never do anything like this to me. You're just like me in this world: a heart of gold."

Flowey sniffled. "I don't have a Soul, remember? Toriel was my mom, and I was given this body. Before I died I was pretty much like everyone else, but then I was killed by a human. My sister. I trusted her and she killed me. My dad is King Asgore. He had Alphys build me a new body, but something went wrong. I'm here, a flower, with the ability to Reset. I don't have a Soul, I don't think like everyone else does, I don't even have magic like the rest of the royal family. I'm an outcast!"

"You don't have magic?"

"No, not like I used to. Alphys thought maybe if I had a Soul again . . ."

"But if you don't have your magic, how could it be you doing this to me?"

Flowey didn't respond. _I'm onto something. I know it._ Frisk turned to where she assumed Sans was standing. "Sans, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" She heard him approaching and waited until he had arrived before speaking again.

"You can see the timelines, right?"

"Yeah . . ?"

"All of them?"

"Well, there are some really weird ones out there, but yeah."

"Do any of them have a monster like I was describing to you a couple of resets ago? A monster with Flowey's face?"

"There are a couple of timelines like that. They're really faint though, almost like a major split happened between those timelines and this one. It's hard to follow them."

"This is really important, Sans." Frisk reached out and found his hand. "Find those timelines. Watch when that monster appears. And when it does, look for me and tell me what happens."

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Just trust me on this one."

Frisk waited with bated breath. _If I'm right about this, if a Flowey on a different timeline we never even met did this to me . . ._

She didn't know what it would mean. That _this_ Flowey wasn't guilty for starters. Maybe it would even show a way for her to survive.

"Oh, sweetheart," Sans said while squeezing Frisk's hand, "you're a long way from home."

"You found it?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"What did you find?" Flowey asked hesitantly.

"There's a different timeline where nobody kills each other. We all look and act completely different. Even you, Flowey. There, you're evil. You stole the six Souls we had and tried to kill everybody. When Frisk tried to stop you, you somehow pushed her from that timeline to this one and made it so that her Soul drains with every death. This was the punishment you gave her."

"The people you call friends will kill you," Frisk remembered.

"A world you couldn't be a hero," Sans agreed.

"Can we get her back to her timeline?" Flowey asked.

"Maybe you could, if you had the power of the other six human Souls. But I don't know how we would get you there. And even if we did, I don't know if that timeline is any safer for Frisk than this one is. She would just go back to trying to stop that Flowey from killing everyone."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Frisk asked.

"Yes," Flowey and Sans said in unison.

"It'll get you killed," Sans told her.

"You're too weak," Flowey added.

"I can't just hide forever," Frisk protested. Her chest was burning and she could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on which begged to differ with her opinion. _I have to do something while I still can._

"Maybe you won't let us hide you forever, but we won't let you get yourself killed, either," Sans said.

"All roads lead to Asgore's Castle," Flowey mourned.

"And none of them are safe roads," Sans muttered. "I guess it's time for emergency measures."

"What emergency measures?" Frisk asked.

"I'm going to make a shortcut straight to the barrier."


	30. Between

"I thought you couldn't make a shortcut straight to the barrier," Frisk said.

"I don't know if I can," Sans corrected. "I've never tried. It would be too risky. But this is an emergency. We're out of chances."

"What we've been doing is working fine!"

"No, it's not. You keep dying. And it's only going to get worse. We have to do this while we have the chance. It's going to be dangerous. I can't bring you with us, Flowey. I don't think I'll have the energy to make it that far with two passengers."

"I understand," Flowey said. "It's the best shot we have. I think you should do it."

"I can't leave Flowey, he's my best friend!"

"You have to," he replied. "Besides, it's not that bad. I can always Reset myself and go see you again, can't I?"

Frisk didn't have a good response to that. She decided instead to appeal to Sans. "This is crazy. More dangerous than even going through Alphys's lab. We might both die!"

"But better that than dying for sure," he responded. "We better get going. We need to leave before Napstablook shows up."

"I can't . . ."

"You can and you will, sweetheart. We have to take the chance."

"Good luck," Flowey said as Sans helped Frisk to her feet. The headache she had been holding at bay returned with full force. "You'll make it, I know you will."

"Hold tight to my hand," Sans instructed as he began leading her forwards. "This is going to feel really uncomfortable."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Frisk felt a crushing weight press in on her from all sides. Her body felt like it was stretching though a straw into an eagerly waiting mouth. The world fell silent and cold. Sans was crushing her fingers. Her grip was slipping. She was barely conscious, and then she wasn't.

* * *

"You aren't like me," a girl's voice said. Frisk opened her eyes. Instead of blackness, she found herself in a field of golden flowers. A human girl who looked her own age stood in front of her. She wore brown shorts and a green sweater with a single yellow stripe. Her short brown hair looked like it had been cut hastily with the knife she held in her hand, while her red eyes glowed under the sunlight.

"This has to be a dream," Frisk said. She sat up, noticing as she did so that she felt no pain. The flowers which had become such a part of her were gone as well. "Am I dead?"

"You almost are," the girl responded. "You're in the between place, the only place I'm allowed to see people anymore."

"Who are you?"

"I can be your best friend, if you want me to be." She shrugged. "Or, if you don't, we can be enemies."

"I don't even know anything about you."

"You could tell a lot about me if you tried."

"How?"

The girl held up her knife so it caught the light. "When you die, you get to take something back with you. Something that meant a lot to you when you were alive. This is what I get. What do you have?"

Frisk glanced down at herself. The only thing worth noticing about herself was that she was still wearing Sans's coat.

"We could trade, you know," the girl offered. "If it hurts too much for you to go back, or if you like it here in the between place. I'll go back instead of you, and you stay here. You'll really like it, I promise."

"But I have to go back. Sans is worried about me. So is Flowey."

"They don't need to worry. I'll be you. I would take good care of them."

"You wouldn't want to be me. I'm blind. I'm dying. Everybody I meet wants to kill me."

"Isn't that how they're supposed to be?"

Something about the girl seemed wrong. She was too happy, especially when she was talking about killing people. And there was something about that knife which bothered Frisk. "I'm going back. I don't want to stay here."

The girl laughed. "Nobody wants to stay here. Nobody ever does. Me? I'm here because I have more than one Soul with me. Anybody else who comes here is only invited when they're near death. I'll make you the same deal I make them. If you're here, it's because you're about to die very soon. If you stay here instead of me then you'll never have to feel that pain. It's easy."

"I'm not going to die," Frisk said. "Even if I am about to die, I'll just Reset again."

The girl's eyes flashed. "I know all about you and your Reseting. I've seen you pass through here before, but you're always asleep and it's never for very long. I heard you talking to yourself, asking why. I tried to help you understand. I gave you the memories that were taken from you. Aren't I a good friend?"

" _You_ gave me those visions?"

"Of course I did. But now that you're here and awake, it means you're about to die for good. So why not trade? Why not be a good friend like I was to you? Why not let me go home?"

"This is my responsibility. I'm not going to run from it."

"Whatever you say." The girl watched as a whirlwind of gold flower petals rose up around Frisk. Within seconds she couldn't see her surroundings anymore. "Say hello to my little brother for me! Tell him I'll be waiting right here when he finally dies! And if he wants his Soul back, he can fight me for it!"

The field of flowers and the girl vanished, leaving Frisk alone on the hard ground and surrounded by darkness.


	31. Smile for Me

"Frisk?"

It took a moment for Frisk to convince herself that she really was breathing. The meeting with the girl in the golden field had rattled her more than she cared to admit. Her parting words rang in Frisk's ears. Who was the brother she referred to? There was only one person who Frisk knew that didn't have a Soul. If what the girl said was true, Flowey would be stuck in that between place with her forever once he died. But that couldn't happen. Not when Flowey could Reset. Could it?

"Frisk, if you're alive I need you to talk to me."

Everything was hurting. What if this really was Frisk's final life? Was she about to die for good? How would that girl know?

"Sweetheart, please be ok . . ."

"I'm alive," Frisk mumbled. She heard a sigh.

"That's good," Sans said. "You had me worried."

"Where are you?" Frisk asked as she sat up. Lighting waves of pain raced up and down her body with the movement.

"I'm fine. Listen, I need you to find the barrier without me."

"Without you?"

"The shortcut took more out of me than I expected. I'm so tired that I can barely move, let alone stand up and fight my way through the castle. I misjudged where we would land. We're inside Asgore's Castle, but not at the barrier itself yet."

"I can't go by myself!"

"The guards will be here any minute. You need to leave. You'll be fine!"

"I'm not leaving without you."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't have a choice, sweetheart. You can't drag me with you. I'd probably fall asleep on the way down the hall."

"We'll either go together or not at all. They'll kill you, Sans!"

"Don't throw away your one chance, get going!"

Sans's shout echoed around them as if they were in a towering room. Frisk folded her arms and stayed where she was as thoughts raced through her head. _I wouldn't make it on my own anyway. I'm blind and have no idea where I'm going. This is it. Either the girl was lying and I'll Reset so we can try something more thought out than this, or I'll die for good. And if I'm going to die for good then I'm going to do it here, with Sans, not wandering the castle alone._

"Don't be so stubborn, Frisk," Sans growled. "You can do it! Just try!"

"I'm not budging an inch," Frisk responded. She heard rapidly approaching footsteps.

"If they catch you, they'll steal your Soul," Sans said. "There won't be anything left to Reset."

"Then you'll have to kill me, Sans, because I'm not leaving you."

"Sweetheart, don't do that to me . . ."

"I have no idea where I'm going and I'm blind. How far do you really think I'd make it on my own?"

The footsteps were getting closer. There wasn't much time left. Frisk took a deep breath.

"I'm going to have a bone to pick with you when we get back," Sans muttered. "I'm only doing this because you aren't leaving me any choice."

"Being stubborn is one of my good qualities," she responded, steeling herself for the inevitable pain. When it came, it didn't feel like any of the other times. It was duller, as if someone hit her in the chest with a pillow. The world melted into silence around her.

"You didn't need to call my bluff, you know," the girl's voice whispered out of the darkness. "You could have taken my word for it."

"I had to try," Frisk responded. "I just wish I could have said goodbye."

"Oh, you'll get your goodbye. It's going to tear them apart when you do. They'll never be themselves again." Her laugh faded away, only to be replaced by another voice. Frisk felt arms wrap around her.

"Sweetheart?"

"Hi, Sans," Frisk whispered.

"Her Soul is almost gone," Flowey said from somewhere nearby. "I don't think . . . I think she's gone."

"No, she's not gone. Not yet. Sweetheart, how could you do that to me?"

"We didn't stand a chance," she replied.

"But you didn't even _try!"_

"It didn't matter." Frisk felt a tugging in her chest. She may not have much Soul left, but she did have something. "Promise me . . ."

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me . . . you'll save them."

She heard a sharp intake of breath. She knew what they were seeing, the one thing she had always carried around but never seen for herself. Her Soul.

"Sweetheart, I . . ."

"Promise, Sans."

"I . . . promise."

The pain in her body started to fade. She couldn't feel Sans's arms around her anymore. "Flowey?"

"Yeah, Frisk?" He couldn't mask the tremble in his voice.

"You were the best friend . . . I ever had."

"You too. I don't want you to leave!"

"I had . . . enough chances . . . It was fun." She took a deep breath. "Sans?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Will you . . . smile?"

"You want me to . . ? Frisk, I-"

"Smile . . . for me."

The silence stretched on. Frisk could feel herself dying. Her time was almost up.

"Sans?"

"I'm smiling, sweetheart."

She managed a weak smile of her own. If Sans would remember to smile, things wouldn't always be so bad. He could learn to be happier. He and Flowey could be the heroes the Underground needed.

"Sans, I need to . . . tell you something." Her voice was barely a whisper now.

"What was that, sweetheart? I can't hear you."

"I . . ."

The world melted into final, welcoming, darkness. But in this darkness, there was light. And warmth.

* * *

Living things don't have hearts. Especially skeletons like me. I checked once. My chest is as empty as can be.

I saw a heart once. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. My flower gave it to me. Sweetheart. She expects me to give it up so that everyone in this wretched place can escape, but they don't deserve it. For now, I'm keeping it safe with me. Maybe one day Flowey and I will use it to leave. Maybe not. I don't see him much anymore.

Looking down at the bed of golden flowers I can't help but remember her, how she died here in my arms. The flowers looked better on her than they ever did in this dusty cavern. She wanted me to smile, but I can't. She wanted me to be happy, but that's impossible. But maybe I can pretend, for her. But it's pointless. I know she can't answer back.

"Knock knock. Who's there? Flower. Flower you today, sweetheart . . ."

That's it. That's all I had in me. One pathetic knock knock joke. And I know what the problem is. I don't have a heart.

Maybe you can make a heart. Or grow one. Wouldn't growing a heart hurt? Maybe I already grew one, but it's hard to tell. It sure hurt plenty when she left me.

Oh well. Who needs a heart anyway . . .


End file.
